ASA Adjudication on thesecretonlineincome.com
thesecretonlineincome.com
Date:
1 February 2012
Media:
Internet (on own site)
Sector:
Business
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A11-174757
Ad
A website, accessed on 16 October 2011, was headed "The Real Information Your Boss Doesn't Want You To Have". Further text stated "Discover how I started to earn a 6-figure income working from home after I came across this free website on TV ...". The webpage also featured the logos of the BBC, ITV and Sky News underneath the text, "As Advertised On:". The website contained the following testimonials:
"100% Real Person Using Our Proven FREE System ... After receiving my FREE Guide I MADE £2,700 ... I started part-time and in my first month I was able to make £2,700 just simply by following this wonderful system. After four months, I lost my job and began working my business from home. After 18 months I was making the six figure income I had always wanted!".
"Robert Hits 6 Figures ... ‘As a result of responding to an advertisement, I was able to make a couple of thousand dollars in my first few months giving me the encouragement to quit my other jobs and work full-time on my own business. After my first year and since, I have been able to earn an income well into 6 figures’".
"Single Mum Makes £1,700 in 6 weeks! 'After researching business for 2 years, I received the Internet Wealth Starter Pack INSTANTLY, went through the process; then in just 6 weeks, Part Time I profited £1,700 So I could quit my job! I now work this business full time raising 2 small kids. My biggest month so far I earned £14,000 and I am on track to double that in the next 90 days’".
Issue
1. The complainant challenged whether the claim that the service had been advertised on BBC, ITV and Sky News could be substantiated.
2. The ASA challenged whether the earnings figures could be substantiated
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
thesecretonlineincome.com did not respond to the ASA's enquiries.
Assessment
The ASA was concerned by thesecretonlineincome.com's lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
1. Upheld
In the absence of any evidence supporting the claim that the product had been advertised on BBC, ITV and Sky News we concluded that the claim was unsubstantiated and therefore misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
2. Upheld
In the absence of any evidence in support of the earnings claims in the ad, we concluded that they were unsubstantiated and therefore misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation).
Action
The claims must not appear again. We referred the matter to CAP's Compliance team.
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