thinkbroadband :: Plusnet sent to the headmaster that is the ASA
Plusnet is this weeks broadband provider to feature in the list of adverts that have been complained about, a total of four viewers raised complaints about the series of adverts that ran promoting an offer than ran out back in February 2013.
Three issues were raised but only the second two points were upheld by the ASA. Plusnet were made to make changes to ensure significant conditions were clear and that availability of a promotion was made clear.
The requirement for line rental is becoming an increasing factor for people to get the best broadband deals, we believe that a large part of this is that the larger providers see revenue from calls as a way to subsidise very low price point broadband. The year on year price increases in voice line rental, when the cost from Openreach has been decreasing also support this notion. If you have the money to pay the voice line rental 12 months in advance, many providers have offers which can save you around £5 per month so it is worth looking for these and even if there is no obvious offer on their website, call them as some don't openly promote their best line rental deals.
Quote:
Plusnet is this weeks broadband provider to feature in the list of adverts that have been complained about, a total of four viewers raised complaints about the series of adverts that ran promoting an offer than ran out back in February 2013.
Three issues were raised but only the second two points were upheld by the ASA. Plusnet were made to make changes to ensure significant conditions were clear and that availability of a promotion was made clear.
- One viewer complained that the on-screen text was illegible. The ASA noted that the text was white on a black background and was considered legible for those who made a positive effort to read all the text.
- Another viewer questioned the content of the ad, because the offer did not apply to everyone. The ASA found this part to be contradictory, as the advert said 'New customers only', but Plusnet said it was available to existing customers too, thus the complaint has been upheld as existing customers would have believed it was not available to them.
- The other complaints focused on whether it was clear that the offer only applied if broadband and calls with line rental was purchased. The requirement to take line rental at £13.99 was the ASA concluded not sufficiently prominent and the advert in its form several months ago gave the impression that the offer of half price broadband applies to all broadband packages Plusnet sold.
The requirement for line rental is becoming an increasing factor for people to get the best broadband deals, we believe that a large part of this is that the larger providers see revenue from calls as a way to subsidise very low price point broadband. The year on year price increases in voice line rental, when the cost from Openreach has been decreasing also support this notion. If you have the money to pay the voice line rental 12 months in advance, many providers have offers which can save you around £5 per month so it is worth looking for these and even if there is no obvious offer on their website, call them as some don't openly promote their best line rental deals.
