ASA steps in on shopping channels

net1

The UK advertising watchdog is to crack down on home shopping channels exaggerating their price cuts in the wake of the collapse of Auctionworld. The Advertising Standards Authority is to establish new rules banning channels from displaying a recommended retail price for a product if it is the only outlet selling the product.

The rules will oblige home shopping channels to provide proof of claims that a rival is selling a product at a more expensive price. Operators will also have to state that any previous price can only be shown if it has been used for 28 days in the past six months. "Clearer pricing guides will lead to fewer disappointed customers, which is good for the both the industry and consumers," said Andrew Brown of ASA.

Auctionworld went bust with debts of £14m (E20m) after Ofcom imposed a £450,000 fine for repeated breaches of the television standards advertising code.