ASA bans Claims Warehouse ad

17 December 2009 | By Natalie Thomas

The ad stated: “Do you have a credit card or loan with a balance of £1000+, or do you have a mortgage? If so, you may have an unfair credit agreement and may be entitled to thousands of pounds.”

Lloyds TSB challenged whether the ad was misleading because it exaggerated the likelihood of the debt being written off. They also said it did not make clear that fees applied to the advertiser’s services.

The Claims Warehouse said it did not think the advert exaggerated the likelihood of the debt being written off because it made no mention of a debt being written off, or the likelihood of a debt being written off.

It said it worked closely with the Ministry of Justice and did not intend to use any misleading advertising. It said it had a network of Independent Consultants who were given ongoing training and regular updates on compliance issues. The ad was taken out by one of those Independent Consultants.

Claims Warehouse said it did not consider the ad exaggerated the likelihood of the debt being written off because it made no mention of a debt being written off, or the likelihood of a debt being written off. It emphasised that the ad stated many agreements “could” be unenforceable, and sent information setting out the total number of credit card and loan agreements already assessed.

But the ASA ruled that because fees applied to the service offered by the Claims Warehouse, and the ad was misleading.  

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