advertising standards authority
-
Latest property news31st Oct 20180 3,001
When is an estate agent branch a location? ASA requests website copy change
The advertising watchdog has asked a NE estate agency to change its website copy after a complainant asked whether phone numbers listed were branches.
Read More » -
Latest property news10th Oct 20180 2,974
CBRE told ads for off-plan property investment units with ‘estimated ROI’ must be proven
The advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint against property consultancy CBRE over an ad for one of its property investements.
Read More » -
Latest property news3rd Oct 20180 2,611
Two Purplebricks radio ads referred to advertising watchdog
Two Purplebricks radio ads broadcast recently have been referred to the Advertising Standards Authority by a member of the public.
Read More » -
Latest property news26th Sep 20180 1,294
Emoov changes ‘save thousands’ claim after complaint to advertising watchdog
Hybrid estate agent Emoov has changed the text on one of its online Google ads after a complaint to the UK's advertising watchdog.
Read More » -
Latest property news5th Sep 20180 2,421
Watchdog upholds complaint against OTM over ‘early upload’ properties claim
Challenger portal OTM has revealed how many of the properties uploaded to it every month are added 24 hours earlier than other portals.
Read More » -
Latest property news22nd Aug 20180 793
Purplebricks told not to claim it advertises on all the ‘major portals’
Purplebricks has been told not to claim on its website that it advertises its properties on all the 'major' property portals.
Read More » -
Latest property news8th Aug 20180 935
Estate agent yet to amend ‘misleading’ claim on website following ASA investigation
A Scottish estate agency that had promised to take down a claim made on its website following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has so far not done so. The claim by Perthshire agency Next Home was brought to the attention of the ASA recently by a member of the public. Featured on the home page of the sales and lettings agency’s website, it claimed that “nine out of then sellers choose Next Home”. The complainant challenged whether this claim was misleading and could be substantiated. After being contacted by the ASA, Next Home provided the advertising watchdog with assurances that the claim would be amended and the matter was resolved informally. But the claim remains live on its home page at the time of publication (see right), while an amended version is featured on subsequent pages. These claim instead that ‘9 out of 10 sellers we visited in 2017 instructed us to sell’ with a qualification in later small print that the claim relates to 2017. Next Home has five branches in Perthshire including in Perth, Auchterarder, Crieff, Blairgowie and Pitlochry and is fond of making punchy claims on its site, although none of these others have…
Read More » -
Latest property news25th Jul 20180 1,283
Online agent reported to watchdog over ‘misleading’ ads for parcels of land
An agent based in London that specialises in land and property for investment purposes has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a member of the public complained about one of its online ads. Exclusive Property Sales and Consultants sells land, commercial and residential investment opportunities and has an address at serviced offices near Victoria railway station. It describes itself as an online agent. ‘Misleading’ ad It was referred to the watchdog because, it was claimed, its advertisement for several parcels of land in the Home Counties could have been construed as misleading. The property advertisement was seen both on its own website and on Rightmove and Zoopla and, the complainant told the ASA, did not make it clear that access to the parcels of land for sale was only either on foot or by tractor/4×4 via third party land. “We brought these concerns to the advertiser’s attention,” the ASA says. “It agreed to amend the ads and remove any statements about the access or use of the land.” Following the informal agreement between the ASA and Exclusive Property Sales and Consultants, the offending ad appears to have now been removed from the company’s listings. Read more about…
Read More » -
Latest property news19th Jul 20180 1,101
Be clearer about upfront fees and ‘local experts’ hybrid estate agents are warned
The Advertising Standards Authority has warned hybrid estate agenst to be clearer in their advertising about upfront fees and 'local experts'.
Read More » -
Latest property news11th Jul 20180 3,433
Estate Agencies rapped by advertising watchdog
Coventry firm Lewis Oliver was reported for a cheeky newspaper ad that included a picture of a man’s torso wearing only swimming shorts headlined as “WOW WHAT A PACKAGE”. A roundel over the model’s crotch then said “Fully Managed Letting Service”. Two members of the public complained about the ad, claiming that the “image was irrelevant to the service being advertised and objectified the man” and was therefore offensive. The ASA has upheld the two complaints, saying that “taking the image, strapline and placement of the roundel into account, we considered that the ad was likely to have the effect of objectifying the man by using his physical features to draw attention to an unrelated product. “We concluded that the ad was likely to cause serious offence to some people.” Lewis Oliver was told not to repeat the ad, which is due for renewal in a few weeks’ time when the advertising contract with the paper comes to an end. The ad has also appeared as a billboard ad (above) although this did not attract any complaints. Meanwhile, a Cornish estate agent has had both a tweet and a blog published by the business referred to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA),…
Read More »