Property firm investigated over clever but ‘misleading’ flyer

Fast Move Estates has promised not to repeat the campaign, which used direct mail flyers that looked very similar to Parcelforce 'missed delivery' cards.

advertising misleading property

A property firm based in Manchester has been investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a member of the public complained about one of its direct mail campaigns.

Fast Move Estates, which offers to buy homes from vendors and covers both Manchester and Stoke on Trent, put flyers through letterboxes in target areas that looked like a Parcel Force ‘missed delivery’ cards (see main image).

The complainant challenged whether this constituted ‘misleading’ advertising, which is prohibited by the ASA’s Code which says that a company’s marketing/advertising must not ‘materially mislead or be likely to do so’.

“We received a complaint about a circular from Fast Move Estates,” an ASA spokesperson says “The ad featured the words ‘Sorry we missed you’, as well as a logo similar to a delivery company’s.

“The complainant argued that the circular wasn’t obviously identifiable as an ad, as it looked like a failed delivery notice.

“We spoke with Fast Move Estates, and we were provided assurance that they would remove the logo and ‘Sorry we missed you’ from their ads. As such, we consider the matter closed.”

Fast Move Estates promises to “provide the easiest way to sell your house fast and secure, our clients confide in us as expert property buyers, thanks to our team of qualified specialists in the housing market,” its website says.

“We buy any house, and will offer you a fair price, transparent process and all with amazing client satisfaction guaranteed.”

The ASA is not alone in calling out the flyers – discussions on social media platform Reddit have been critical of the firm, calling its flyer ‘deceitful’.


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