ASA bans two Lloyds TSB ads

8 June 2011 | By Natalie Thomas

One ad, shown on March 8 stated: “With all our bills, direct debits and purchases, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of our money. Money Manager from Lloyds TSB is a new, free way to show you how much you’re spending and on what. It helps you keep control of your spending so you can see where you can save a little here and there. Lloyds TSB, for the journey”.

The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading, because he understood the product was not available at the time the ad appeared and customers were only able to register in preparation for the launch.

Lloyds TSB said that they initially launched communications about Money Manager on January 28 2011 and opened a registration process through its website on the same day.

The ASA noted that, by the time the complainant viewed the ad, the Money Manager service had been launched and some customers were able to use the service. However, it noted that the roll-out was continuing in phases and therefore the complainant had not been able to take advantage of the service immediately upon registering for it.

The ASA ruled the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

Another television ad, broadcast in October 2010, for Lloyds TSB home insurance showed a cartoon man coming home to find that he had been burgled. The ad showed him picking up a letter from Lloyds TSB titled “Personal Claims Consultant” and the man was subsequently visited by a personal claims consultant.

A voice-over said: “At Lloyds TSB, we understand how upsetting it can be when things go wrong, which is why we’ll send you a personal claims consultant to help you when you need it most. So the same person will support you through your claim from start to finish. Find out how our home insurance can help you.”

A viewer challenged whether the claim that Lloyds TSB would send customers a personal claims consultant was misleading, because when they made a claim a personal claims consultant was not allocated to them.

Lloyds TSB said that personal claims consultants were available only to customers who had their Home Solutions home insurance. They explained that PCC was a service they offered to help settle claims made under that particular insurance policy.

But the ASA considered that the voice-over claim in conjunction with the scenario of a house being burgled, would be understood by viewers to mean that a PCC would always be sent when making a claim.

It ruled the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form.

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