Price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com has run into trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority for the second time in five months, after it claimed consumers would be able to get a credit card, no matter what their credit rating.
In February, the ASA banned a DRTV ad for the site after it said it compared more insurance products than anyone else. Rival Gocompare had questioned whether the claim could be substantiated.
The latest complaint was sparked by an email ad which claimed: “Get approved first time. Regardless of your credit rating, use this free and easy-to-use service to find the right cards for you.”
In response, Moneysupermarket.com explained the service gave customers the opportunity to review the likelihood of being accepted for credit across the whole of the market, adding that it made clear that some customers would not be eligible for some financial products.
But the ASA considered that the claim implied that all visitors would be approved for a credit card regardless of their financial history and because this was not the case, it concluded that the ad was misleading.
It ruled that the ad should not appear again in its current form and told moneysupermarket.com not to exaggerate the likelihood that consumers would be approved for credit.
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