The Advertising Service Authority, the United Kingdom’s independent ad regulator, has rapped a British gold buying company for what it calls a misleading ad.
The site in question, cash4mygold.co.uk, features a “Cash For Gold Calculator,” which allows customers to enter the weight and caratage of their gold to see the price they would earn.
But a consumer, who claimed she was offered a lower sum for her gold than the calculator provided, complained to the regulator that the listed prices were misleading.
The site responded that that the calculator simply delivers “an indication” of the piece’s value, which is not necessarily the same thing as an offer.
But the ASA concluded that while consumers may understand that the calculator’s offer was not the same as a final price, they would expect the two prices to be close.
“As we had not been provided with any evidence this was the case, we concluded the gold calculator and listed prices for gold were misleading,” the regulator concluded.
The ASA said that the ad must not appear again.
“We told Cash4MyGold not to state or imply that listed or calculated gold prices were close to the amount offered to most consumers, unless they could demonstrate this was the case,” it concluded.
Cash4mygold.co.uk could not be reached for comment.
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