This weeks ASA ruling against Sit Up - 13 February 2013

[Wirral70]

Here is the latest ruling - Upheld

http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/2/sit_up-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_212294.aspx

 

[Flying Pigs]

Good Let's hope the pressure to be honest with customers keeps coming.

 

[tony73]

Excellent work again!

 

[Wirral70]

I might add I merely started this thread, I cannot take credit for the upheld complaint so well done to whoever made it.

 

[Greg]

This is quite an important ruling. At last, Bid will have to make their extra charges more clear, verbally. Whether they actually will remains to be seen.

 

[newtobid]

mmmm mr simon anyone?

well done

 

[merryone]

I thought they'd already been given a warning about not mentioning the extra charges, they've been mentioning them for a while now haven't they?

 

[Wirral70]

I thought they'd already been given a warning about not mentioning the extra charges, they've been mentioning them for a while now haven't they?

Indeed, they have probably received a lot of similar complaints and have had to change long before this particular ruling.

I assume they will still look at each retrospective complaint though and give a ruling, I think so anyway.

 

[deanos]

shame other channels like IW dont have there call charges i bigger text as it can cost a considerable amount a 5 min call will set you back £1, same with p+p on other chanels its hardly mentioned and text is small

 

[Flying Pigs]

QVC is free.

 

[deanos]

there are many more channels apart from QVC, and QVC p+p isn't that large

 

[Atticus]

It's now clear why the Bid presenters have suddenly started mentioning the p&p and phonecall costs in the past month!

While all shopping channels do charge p&p and some for the phonecalls, Bid are exceptional in the excessive costs of the p&p and of the phone call - £7.99-9.99 (per item) and a further £1.53 really is a significant amount and in no way represents the true costs of sending or processing the item. Also, Bid presenters use the selling tactic of saying "ONLY £1" or "you can get this for JUST a £1" - this obviously isn't true, which is why I'm happy ASA made this ruling and that Bid have now been forced to change their ways.

 

[Price Plunge]

Could be wrong, but at least one presenter (Nicola George)/producer/manager could be trying to work round this requirement by only mentioning p&p once within the last minute of a sale, so they can legitimately claim that they did mention p&p but not at a point where it can influence the majority of buying decisions. I'm pretty sure that Nicola only mentioned p&p once during the sale of a product recently and that was during the last 5 seconds, almost as an afterthought :wink:

(Message to any remaining potential buyers of goods from the Sit-up channels: Do you really want to buy from a company who seems to be deliberately working round regulations designed to inform and protect buyers? Any company who intentionally sets out to deceive customers must have something to hide.)

Indeed I've seen more of Nicola George recently and she's rapidly turning into my least favourite presenter on the channels; James Russell may be a bit dim and as irritating as hell, Peter Simon may be deceptively bumbling but at least makes some effort to be kind to people, whereas Nicola just seems cold and calculating with almost no redeeming features, plus she seems to be the very last presenter in Sit-up Towers to receive company memos relating to the almost-weekly ASA adjudications.

 

[Wirral70]

That wouldn't surprise me in the slightest where Nicola George is concerned.

 

[deedee]

Could be wrong, but at least one presenter (Nicola George)/producer/manager could be trying to work round this requirement by only mentioning p&p once within the last minute of a sale, so they can legitimately claim that they did mention p&p but not at a point where it can influence the majority of buying decisions. I'm pretty sure that Nicola only mentioned p&p once during the sale of a product recently and that was during the last 5 seconds, almost as an afterthought :wink:

(Message to any remaining potential buyers of goods from the Sit-up channels: Do you really want to buy from a company who seems to be deliberately working round regulations designed to inform and protect buyers? Any company who intentionally sets out to deceive customers must have something to hide.)

Indeed I've seen more of Nicola George recently and she's rapidly turning into my least favourite presenter on the channels; James Russell may be a bit dim and as irritating as hell, Peter Simon may be deceptively bumbling but at least makes some effort to be kind to people, whereas Nicola just seems cold and calculating with almost no redeeming features, plus she seems to be the very last presenter in Sit-up Towers to receive company memos relating to the almost-weekly ASA adjudications.

I know exactly what you mean PP, our Lola La Rose has become seemingly hard and ruthless.
She has become one of my least watchable presenters.
The others including Russell, Mason and Simon (if he can be understood!) are at least trying to toe the line with compliance but I'm just watching Peter Sherlock and he is rarely mentioning P&P and hasn't once mentioned call charges so there is clearly still work to be done here my friends and although standards are improving there still seem to be a couple pushing their luck!

 

[deanos]

P+P is very clear on screen, you need to be blind to miss it IMO, so as long as its mentioned once then that seems ok, like i said before other channels don't mention it so why don't people complain about the other channels as as well ?

 

[deedee]

P+P is very clear on screen, you need to be blind to miss it IMO, so as long as its mentioned once then that seems ok, like i said before other channels don't mention it so why don't people complain about the other channels as as well ?

ouch! be very careful, you're in danger of insulting and offending those of us who are visually impaired and cannot see the screen graphics.

apart from anything else, people complain about Sit Up because of the extortionate additional charges about which they have deliberately tried to mislead in the past
I appreciate other channels levy charges but not of the amount Sit Up do and neither do they mislead 'this is yours for only £1' etc.

 

[Wirral70]

P+P is very clear on screen, you need to be blind to miss it IMO, so as long as its mentioned once then that seems ok, like i said before other channels don't mention it so why don't people complain about the other channels as as well ?

I agree to a point but Sit Up are maybe being asked to place an emphasis on P+P because, unlike other shopping channels, they regularly sell products that cost considerably less than the postage charges or in many cases less than the phone call alone. Often the P+P costs some 800% more. In fact sometimes even 8000% more when it's a supposedly 1p deal.

And unlike other shopping channels they have regularly claimed you can buy 9, £1 items 'for just £9' when in fact the delivery for those goods alone would cost £71.91, I think you will agree no other channels have made or make such claims.

They are a special case deserving special consideration by the regulators, in my opinion. Like it or not that's just what's happening too.

And it's worth remembering that the ASA is funded by the industry including Sit Up, not Government. For them to order Sit Up to take such action speaks volumes.

 

[deedee]

I agree to a point but Sit Up are maybe being asked to place an emphasis on P+P because, unlike other shopping channels, they often sell products that cost considerably less than the postage charges or in many cases less than the phonecall alone. Often the P+P costs some 800% more. In fact sometimes even 8000% more when it's a supposedly 1p deal.

And unlike other shopping channels they have regularly claimed you can buy 9, £1 items 'for just £9' when in fact the delivery for those goods alone would cost £71.91, I think you will agree no other channels have made or make such claims.

They are a special case deserving special consideration by the regulators, in my opinion. Like it or not that's just what's happening too.

darn it Wirral, you're good!!

 

[Greg]

ouch! be very careful, you're in danger of insulting and offending those of us who are visually impaired and cannot see the screen graphics.

apart from anything else, people complain about Sit Up because of the extortionate additional charges about which they have deliberately tried to mislead in the past
I appreciate other channels levy charges but not of the amount Sit Up do and neither do they mislead 'this is yours for only £1' etc.

Hear, hear!