Price Plunge
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- Aug 3, 2008
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If you thought that presenters working for the Sit-up channels were looking glum for some reason very recently, here's why:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tomers-misled-high-pressure-sales-offers.html
Personally I'm not a fan of the Mail website, but here's a quote from the article which gives an idea as to what it's about:
And they were still grossly exaggerating the value of items last week, including a piece of gold tone jewellery which had an outrageously high start price, so there hasn't been an obvious improvement apart from occasional reminders about the p&p and phone call charges.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tomers-misled-high-pressure-sales-offers.html
Personally I'm not a fan of the Mail website, but here's a quote from the article which gives an idea as to what it's about:
Ouch.The presenter pushing a Bid TV deal for an Ingersoll Diamond Limited Edition Men’s Chronograph Bracelet Watch with Diamonds’ claimed it had a ‘Swiss precision mechanism’.
He bolstered the impression of Swiss craftsmanship by adding that the Ingersoll brand ‘are very, very proud of their Swiss making heritage’.
The ASA said most people would believe the watch was indeed made in Switzerland when the truth was that it was assembled in China.
In another case a Bid TV presenter selling a Star Ruby Ring suggested it had a retail value of £800.
The bidding started at £875 before reducing to £196.
The presenter suggested the final selling figure of £196 was below trade price, an ‘outrageous’ reduction and an ‘absolute bargain’.
However, the company was unable to provide any independent evidence to back up its claims about the real value of the ruby in the ring.
The ASA said: ‘Since January 2012 there have been 27 ASA rulings against Sit-Up Ltd. The two main types of problem have been misleading pricing claims and misleading product descriptions.
‘We are concerned that that number of misleading ads creates an on-going and cumulative risk of financial detriment to consumers.
‘Despite our repeated warnings and attempts to work with Sit-Up Ltd to improve its advertising we have not seen a significant improvement in its compliance record.’
The watchdog’s chief executive, Guy Parker said: ‘In a live TV auction, where presenters make high-pressure, time-limited offers, it’s crucial that viewers are given accurate information.
‘Sit-Up Ltd has been given ample opportunity to address its compliance failings but hasn’t done so. Our referral to Ofcom sends a clear message that companies who don’t deal fairly with consumers will face consequences.’
And they were still grossly exaggerating the value of items last week, including a piece of gold tone jewellery which had an outrageously high start price, so there hasn't been an obvious improvement apart from occasional reminders about the p&p and phone call charges.