To: Guy Parker, ASA (Advertising Standards Authority);
Stop companies using '£ per month' to refer to yearly purchase plans
For too long the deceitful and dishonest practice of selling web services that claim to cost only 'from £XX per month' but either offer no such monthly payment option, or a monthly payment option that is heavily inflated, has gone unckeched.
These service providers are actually using an enticing, lower £XX per month to refer to exclusively yearly purchases. Many times there is little to no reference to this in a visible or easy to read location within close proximity to the purchase method or price advertising.
This must stop, and so too should the false advertising that uses this position to trade upon. A one-off payment of £199 is not £16.50 per month, it is £199 in a single month. You cannot budget for successive months to affect the expenditure of impact thereof.
Ban this practice now. All prices and advertising must refer only to the payment options available and be reflective of the period in which that payment is made.
These service providers are actually using an enticing, lower £XX per month to refer to exclusively yearly purchases. Many times there is little to no reference to this in a visible or easy to read location within close proximity to the purchase method or price advertising.
This must stop, and so too should the false advertising that uses this position to trade upon. A one-off payment of £199 is not £16.50 per month, it is £199 in a single month. You cannot budget for successive months to affect the expenditure of impact thereof.
Ban this practice now. All prices and advertising must refer only to the payment options available and be reflective of the period in which that payment is made.
Why is this important?
This IS false advertising. It IS business mispractice. It IS immoral. It creates a false sense of worth and affordability and it is aimed at adding in an additional level of mysticism within pricing structures to make the end payment total seem less daunting than it is in hopes to trick people out of the money that they are spending. Businesses need to be transparent and trustworthy, this is neither.
