PC World has
been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority
for touting £199 bargain laptop PCs which consumers complained were
not actually available.
The ASA received complaints from Mansfield
Computers, The Computer Shop, Bits'N'PC's and 47
members of the public, most of whom visited PC World stores on the
morning of the first day of the sale.
PC World explained that it had sold nearly 2,500 units at the offer
price of £199, and that it had applied a one laptop per customer
limit.
The company argued that this had allowed almost 2,500 customers to
take advantage of the offer.
PC World added that, in the two to three weeks prior to the sale,
it had experienced demand of approximately 14 units per day and
therefore believed that it had coped well with the increased
demand.
The retailer told the ASA that just under 100 units remained at the
end of the two-day sale, and that it therefore believed it had been
able to satisfy demand even if some stores had sold out.
However, in upholding the complaint, the ASA considered that the
retailer's adverts, which featured scenes of many computers being
delivered, implied that there was no limit on the number of laptops
available during the sale.
"However, we understood from the complainants that only 10 laptops
were available per store and only one laptop was available per
customer during the two-day sale and that customers waiting to get
into PC World stores had been given a leaflet explaining that,"
said the ASA ruling.
"Because the TV ad did not make clear that there was a limit on
availability, we concluded that it was misleading by
omission."
The advertising watchdog ruled that the TV ad breached CAP
(Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading
advertising) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications).