New Decisions: Car Insurance, Gym Promotions and More
The following decisions have been published on the ASA website:
- Complaint 16/173 Angelique Healing, Settled
- Complaint 16/392 Appeal 16/021 ViBERi, Upheld in part
- Complaint 16/403 Greenstay, Settled
- Complaint 16/415 Les Mills, Settled
- Complaint 16/427 Splash Planet, Settled
- Complaint 17/001 AA Insurance, Not Upheld
- Complaint 17/009 Specsavers NZ – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/011 Fonterra Co-oerative Group Ltd No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/013 Absolute Therapy, Settled
- Complaint 17/020 Just Herbal – Settled
- Complaint 17/024 Techno Fix, Settled
- Complaint 17/026 Greenpeace NZ, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/028 Tory Urban Retreat, Settled
- Complaint 17/030 Hell Pizza, Settled
- Complaint 17/033 VR Hotels, – Withdrawn
- Complaint 17/037 Miers Laboratory, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/038 Reiki Pure and Simple, Settled
- Complaint 17/039 Sue Nicholson, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/041 Slingshot, Withdrawn
- Complaint 17/043 Brand Developers Ltd, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/044 NRL Television, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/046 American Express, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/049 Chanui Ltd, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/050 Bush Inn Shopping Centre, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/051 Reckitt Benckiser (NZ) Limited, – No Grounds to Proceed
- Complaint 17/053 Hobsonville Chiropractic Centre, Settled
AA Insurance Ad Meets Required Standards
A television advertisement for AA Insurance showed a man getting out of his car after a utility vehicle reversed into it. The front bumper of the man’s car has been damaged. The car is parked outside a cafe which has an open roller door as the entrance with a driveway out in front.
The Complainant said the advertisement was misleading because the car is illegally parked as it is within one metre of a driveway. The Complainant said insurance policies are rendered null and void if the policy holder has done something illegal and they would not be covered.
The Advertiser said while the entrance to the building may appear to look like a driveway it was not in use as a vehicle entrance but as a pedestrian entrance to a café. The Advertiser also said even if a driver is parked illegally, there are no specific exclusions for parking illegally therefore the driver they would be covered.
The Complaints Board accepted the Advertiser’s explanation and ruled the advertisement was not likely to mislead or deceive consumers and had been prepared with the requisite sense of social responsibility. Accordingly, the Complaints Board ruled the complaint was Not Upheld.
Self-Regulatory Action from Les Mills
The email advertisement for Les Mills, dated 10 November 2016, offered free membership until 2017, with the words “Join Les Mills now – It’s free until 2017*”.
The Complainant said the advertisement was misleading because it offered free membership until 2017 yet a joining fee applied in order to get the free membership days.
The Advertiser acknowledged there should have been a hyperlink to the terms of the offer and said they will address this error in future promotions.
Noting the self-regulatory action taken by the Advertiser in acknowledging the omission of the hyperlink in the advertisement, and the commitment to ensure this omission does not occur in future, the Complaints Board ruled that the matter was settled.
