advertising standards authority
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Latest property news
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'.
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Latest property news
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),…
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Latest property news
Purplebricks told by ad watchdog not to repeat key claims about its fees
Purplebricks has had three complaints against it by Hunters upheld despite originally avoiding this by agreeing to amend its website.
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Latest property news
Leading property auction house reported to watchdog over ‘misleading’ listing
Leading property auction house Barnard Marcus has been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority over a potentially misleading online ad.
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Agencies & People
Blurring of lines between traditional and online operations prompts ASA complaint about agent
Agency Howard Cundey agrees to remove references to Zoopla on its website after complaint to watchdog despite still being a listing agent on the portal.
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Latest property news
Emoov investigated by advertising watchdog for third time since 2015
Hybrid estate agent emoov has been investigated for a third time by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this time over claims made on its website about how much vendors can save by using its service when compared to traditional agents. An agent in Lincolnshire complained to the ASA about the claim on an www.emoov.co.uk webpage that said “our activity around Scunthorpe…£2,672 Average Customer Saving” and “our sellers saved an average of £4,378 in fees with emoov”. The complainant also highlighted that emoov had published two different fixed fees on the page without explaining the difference, one for £795 and the other for £679. The person who contacted the ASA challenged whether the savings claims could be substantiated, and whether the different fixed fees were misleading. Promises After being contacted by the ASA, emoov agreed to take the comparative claims down and has promised not to repeat them, and now makes it clear on the page that it has only one fixed fee of £795. Emoov has been investigated by the ASA twice before for being misleading, in 2015 and 2016, both of which included complaints made to the advertising watchdog about ‘fees saved’ as well as other issues including competitor…
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Latest property news
Both Purplebricks and OpenRent change claims made on their websites following ASA investigations
Two of the UK’s largest online agents have been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about misleading claims on their websites. The first is Purplebricks, its 11th referral since it started up in 2015. A complainant challenged whether the way the company provides information about its standard fee of £849 was misleading. An icon is positioned next to text saying “our standard fee £849” which, when hovered over, pops up with the text: “This is our standard fee for everywhere outside of London and surrounding areas, where we charge £1199 inc VAT. Around 40% of our customers pay us a fixed fee of £300 to cover ALL viewings”. The complainant understood that the average fee was therefore likely to be higher than £849 and challenged whether this was misleading. The ASA says it agreed, saying that “we noted that it was only when a user hovered over the icon that information about the additional cost for the viewing service became visible”. “We approached the advertiser with our concerns and they agreed to amend their website.” Instead, the Purplebricks site now says “viewing service is optional £300” on the main page, rather than as a pop-up. OpenRent complaint The second…
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Latest property news
Purplebricks is ignoring advertising watchdog’s ruling over fee transparency, claims CIELA
Purplebricks is to be investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a ruling the watchdog published last year which upheld a complaint by the Charter for Independent Estates and Lettings Agents (CIELA) about its TV advertising. CIELA claims that Purplebricks is still not being clear about its upfront fee structure, despite the ASA saying it should do when, in October, the ASA found that Purplebricks’ ‘commisery’ TV ads had breached its Code of Broadcast Advertising. In the comments, the ASA said Purplebricks must “ensure that when making a comparison to other fee models in their ads, they made it clear that their flat fee was always payable.” Last week CIELA made a further complaint to the ASA, pointing out that several of Purplebricks’ online adverts made the same claims, and had not been amended to reflect the ASA’s earlier decision. CIELA has been told by the ASA that its complaint will not be taken forward. In an email to CIELA, it has said that “having considered your complaint, we have determined that it is not necessary to reinvestigate the issue, in light of the previous ruling. “Instead, we will refer this matter directly to our Compliance team to take…
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Latest property news
Zoopla apologises for ‘me too’ hermit crab advert after it whips up Twitter storm
Zoopla has apologised after the latest version of its hermit crab advert campaign whipped up a Twitter storm and prompted one member of the public to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad (pictured, right), which is currently running on the London underground and features a line of hermit crabs each answering “Me too” to the statement “I’m selling my house on Zoopla”, upset many people on social media because of its unintended link to the global #metoo movement triggered by the revelations of sexual harassment within the Hollywood film industry. Hundreds of people took to Twitter to vent their anger, calling out the portal for “for misrepresenting the hastag #metoo” as one post put it, and that it was in “poor taste” and “repulsive hijacking”. But following the complaint to the ASA, a spokesperson for the advertising watchdog disagreed, saying that “while the ad does use the phrase ‘me too’ we consider that viewers of the ad are likely to interpret its use as the crabs all agreeing to sell their houses on Zoopla, rather than a reference to recent sexual harassment claims and the resulting #metoo campaign”. Several Twitter accounts also rose to the defence of the…
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Latest property news
Two property company’s websites investigated by advertising watchdog
How creative can an agent get about its company’s history? That question has been put under the spotlight after an agent in North London was reported this week to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for claiming on its property website that it has been in business for a decade even though it was not incorporated until October 2015, Companies House records show. Huddletons, which operates out of an office above a restaurant in Camden and one director, appears to have changed its website to reflect the ASA request to amend its claim, now stating the more subtle point that it “has developed organically over the past decade from concept through to where it currently stands as a business”. Huddleton is not listed on either the NAEA or ARLA websites as a member but it is signed up to the Property Redress Scheme. But the company is not the only one investigated this week by the ASA over claims made on its website. Builder Crest Nicholson had an advert for one of its developments challenged by a complainant, who said an image was misleading because it showed a detached property when, on further investigation, it turned out to be semi-detached. “The…
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