Insurance Con

[MickJ]

Saw this in a National Newspaper and wondered how many fell for this Con thinking the DVD player was FREE. Will not name the Insurance Company concerned, don't want to get Elton into trouble.

 

quote:

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...and receive a DVD player when you take out the plan

 

If you decide to take out the plan, we'll send you a welcome gift of a slimline DVD player or, if you prefer, £30 Argos vouchers. You'll receive your choice of gift one month after we receive your first premium.

 

This gift is paid for out of the payments we receive, which are taken from the charges deducted from your plan.

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A damn funny interpretation of the meaning of the word 'Gift.' They may be up front with this but is it legal to call it a gift.

 

Some definitions of gift found on the Web:

 

something acquired without compensation

 

giving: the act of giving

 

Anything of value received from any source for which no repayment or service to the contributor is expected.

[ridgeacre]

Our local Trading Standards Officers where handed the details of this advert on Friday they say they have had a number of complaints and are looking into the matter

[MickJ]

Have just completed a complaint form on the Advertising Standards Agency website.

Not sure if it will do any good, but if you do not complain about these things, then companies will continue to publish misleading adverts or ones that include gross misuse of words.

[argyll]

Im not really sure what that ad means Mick. It either quite blatantly says we'll deduct payment for the 'gift' from your account OR its saying, we'll pay for the gift ourselves from the admin charges that we would normally make. Either way its so badly worded that it could mean almost anything. Typical 'insurance company speak'

[Guest sslatter]

Hit 'em hard, that's what I say. They know exactly what they're doing, these companies.

 

So now we know- you receive a "gift"- you pay for it.

 

Reminds me of the Worthing Van Hire Company who advertised "One day's Van Hire for £20". When you went to pick up your van at 8.30 am, you were told it had to be back by 4.30pm later that day. When this was queried, they said that "one day's Van Hire" meant one working day, i.e. 8 hours.

 

Trading Standards threw the book at them, and rightly so.

[MickJ]

Received reply from ASA today.

 

They will be asking the company for their assurance that they will remove the word gift from future advertising and are also to give their asurrance that they will not use the word gift to describe an item that is not free to consumers. No other action to be taken unless they refuse to comply.

 

A result, I would say.