A complaint against Peterborough-based agency, Blenheim Sales & Lettings, has been upheld by advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The complaint relates to an advert posted on Blenheim Sales & Lettings’ Facebook account, seen on 20 November 2022 stated, “Christmas is coming … To celebrate we are giving away £500 in vouchers!!! … 5 lucky winners can each win £100 in gift vouchers of your choice. For a chance to win simply: Like / follow our page Blenheim Sales and Lettings; Like and share this post; Tag 3 friends you think would also like a chance to win. Please make sure you do all the above to be in with a chance to win”. Underneath that was text that stated, “The winner will be announced Monday 19th December […] You will be notified by us on this post if you have won”.

Issue: The complainant challenged whether the promotion had been conducted fairly, because they were announced as a winner, but had been unable to claim their prize.

Blenheim Sales & Lettings said they searched for the entrant on Facebook at the time of the draw, but could not find them and had no other way to contact the person. Other prize winners did receive their £100 voucher, but since the winner in question was not available, they donated their £100 prize to a charity.

ASA, which upheld the complaint, explained:

“The CAP Code required that promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently, and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Additionally, the Code required that promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment, participants should be able to retain terms and conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion, and marketing communications must make clear how and when winners will be notified of results.

“We understood that the other prize winners received their prizes. However, we further understood that Blenheim Sales & Lettings had explained prize winners had needed to contact them within seven days of the winners’ announcement to receive their prize. This was not stated within the terms and conditions of the promotion (T&Cs). We considered that this was significant information that needed to have been communicated to entrants within the initial post in order for them to understand fully how to participate.

“Because the ad omitted significant information on how to claim a prize, we concluded that it was likely to mislead and the promotion had not been administered fairly.

“The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 8.2 (Promotional marketing), 8.14 (Administration), 8.17 and 8.17.1 (Significant conditions for promotions).

Action

ASA concluded that the promotion must not be run again in the form complained of. ASA told Blenheim Sales & Lettings to ensure that promotions were conducted fairly and in accordance with the Code, and specifically that ads for promotions communicated all significant information likely to affect consumers’ understanding of how to participate.