Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
Rule 3.25 states that “Marketers should not describe an element of a package as “free” if that element is included in the package price...” Some internet or telephone packages require a monthly or quarterly fee but include so-called “free” calls or access. Claims such as “free off-peak calls to landlines”, “free internet access” or “free calls to other numbers on our network” are common. The ASA has ruled that, although it has no objection to a “free” product or component of a product being dependent on the purchase of another product marketers should not confuse the difference between components that are “included” in the price and those that are genuinely free.
A good rule of thumb is that, if the “free” component is limited to a short-term promotion, the use of the word “free” is likely to be acceptable (e.g. “sign up by the end of the month and get 50 free texts”). If, however, the product’s pricing has been calculated to include a certain number of off-peak minutes or texts for which the marketer will not make a separate charge, the term “inclusive” is the right one. Similarly, if a product changes so that an additional component is offered in the long term, that extra component is “inclusive”, not “free” (Vodafone Ltd, 27 October 2004).
Where a component is optional, the ASA has ruled that it is legitimate to describe it as “free” (Video Networks Ltd, 6 July 2005).
When internet packages were first advertised, the industry was confused about their pricing and when they could claim “free”. As a result, the CAP Copy Advice team issued a Help Note on “Free” Claims for Internet Packages”, which outlines claims likely to be acceptable.
In June 2005, the ASA considered a complaint about a telecoms facility linked to customers’ broadband packages. The advertiser, BT, claimed that its Communicator package, gave users a year’s “free” calls to local and national geographic numbers made via their PC. The complainant believed, and the ASA agreed, that the ads were misleading because they did not make clear that making the “free” calls used a significant amount of the 1Gb usage allowance from the basic broadband package: 1Gb equated to a maximum of 194 minutes of call time. The ASA concluded that ads for such facilities should state that they should make clear that the calls depleted customers’ usage allowances and should not be described as “free” (British Telecommunications plc, 29 June 2005).
See also entry on ‘Sales Promotion: Free’.
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Last modified : 30 September 2011