Upholding a complaint made towards Ideal World is difficult - they're well-versed in treading a fine line between what's allowed and what isn't - but if you know the relevant rules inside out and prepared to make the effort it's perfectly possible, even at the end of the day it's probably not worth the effort considering the potential end result.
I did consider making a formal ASA complaint in relation to their recent false assertions that LTE "Long Term Evolution" meant a smartphone was actually 'future-proof'; a claim made twice on two different shows, most damningly made by Dennice because she (as I said before) isn't technically-literate enough to make that sort of thing up on the hoof so was probably reading it off an autocue script that had been prepared and signed off in advance by a senior member of Ideal World management so they clearly set out to deceive technologically-illiterate viewers. But I haven't seen it since (and yes I don't watch IW all day every day) therefore IW management could simply blame a (possibly nonexistent) junior producer for not correctly following compliance procedures, and carry on as if nothing had happened.
Maybe if it see it happening again I'll make a formal complaint to the ASA, but as with those scam auctions that fleece buyers before moving on to the next unsuspecting town it makes these deliberate errors more difficult to pin down from a legal perspective. A single complaint can be blamed on a one-off mistake, and two separate complaints can be blamed on junior staff incompetence and/or a serial complainant (if the complainant isn't careful).
