Alan Ford t/a Kitchens Advert Falls Foul of ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint from a member of the public about a regional press advert, for Alan Ford t/a Kitchens. A regional press advert stated ‘Old Ex-Display Kitchens to Clear. Many designs to choose from including, oak, maple, high gloss white, etc. Example ivory shaker kitchen including sink, worktop & appliances, should cost over £3,000 on offer for £595 (only 180 kitchens available)’.

Issue
The complainant, who tried to buy an ex-display kitchen as advertised but was told the product was not available, challenged whether the ex-display units in the ad had been purchased by customers.

The CAP Code: 3.1;6.1;7.1;16.1;16.3;16.2

Response
Alan Ford trading as Kitchens (Kitchens) did not provide any evidence to substantiate their claims. They said that they had changed their ad in response to our letter, but did not tell us how they had changed it.

Assessment
Upheld
Because the advertisers did not send any evidence to show ex-display units had been purchased by consumers we concluded that Kitchens had not shown the ex-display kitchens in their ad were either available or available at the prices advertised.

We were concerned by the minimal response we received from Kitchens, and we reminded them of their responsibilities under the Code to respond fully to our enquiries in future.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) 6.1 (Honesty) 7.1 (Truthfulness) 16.1, 16.2 and 16.3 (Availability of Products).

Action
The ad must not appear again. We told the advertisers not to advertise ex-display kitchens unless they could prove they were available.

We asked CAP to inform its Media Members of the problem with Kitchens.