Advertising, promotions and consumer rights

What counts

Advertising appears in more places than a traditional advert

Paid search results, social posts, influencer content, affiliate links, emails, websites, app screens, price claims, promotions, broadcast ads, posters and direct marketing can all raise advertising issues. The ASA's remit depends on the medium and nature of the communication. Packaging, editorial content, political material, private correspondence and overseas content may require another route.

Start by identifying the advertiser, the publisher or influencer, the platform, the product and the commercial relationship. The name visible in a post may not be the legal trader that took payment.

Capture evidence

Preserve the complete consumer journey

• Screenshot or record the full ad, including date, URL, account and surrounding content.
• Keep the headline, image, qualifications, footnotes, click-through page and checkout price.
• Record what a reasonable consumer would understand before later clarification.
• Keep order confirmation, terms, payment record and trader correspondence.
• For targeted or disappearing content, record how and where it was served.

Assess the claim

Identify the misleading impression

A complaint is stronger when it identifies the overall impression, the material claim or omission, and why it could affect a transactional decision. Objective claims may need substantiation. A qualification should be clear and sufficiently prominent, and it should not contradict the main claim.

Separate disappointment from a testable problem. “I disliked it” is different from a price that excludes an unavoidable fee, an unsupported performance claim, a material condition hidden after the click or marketing that is not recognisable as advertising.

ASA route

What an ASA complaint can achieve

The ASA may assess whether advertising within remit complies with the Advertising Codes. It can seek amendment or withdrawal, publish rulings and use sanctions or referrals for continued non-compliance. Some complaints are handled informally and prioritisation applies.

An ASA ruling can be important evidence and can stop or change advertising, but it does not usually determine the consumer's private contract claim. Do not delay a refund, chargeback, ombudsman or court deadline while waiting.

Read the ASA route profile

Personal remedy

Complain to the trader about the transaction

Explain the representation or omission, when and where you saw it, why it mattered, what you bought and the remedy sought. Depending on the facts, consumer protection, misrepresentation, contract and sector-specific rules may overlap. Use accurate language and avoid treating an ASA complaint as proof that the legal test is already met.

Payment protection may provide a parallel route. A regulated financial, telecom, energy or travel provider may also have a specialist ombudsman or ADR process.

Social media

Influencers, affiliates and recognisable advertising

Commercial content should be identifiable as advertising where the rules require it. Labels, placement and the overall presentation matter. Preserve the post, story, bio, link, discount code and landing page. A platform disclosure tool does not necessarily resolve every transparency issue.

Read the influencer and social media guide

Price claims

Hidden fees, savings and availability

Record the first price, every mandatory charge, when the charge appeared and whether a realistic route existed to buy at the promoted price. For a saving claim, keep the comparison price, dates and product details. For scarcity or availability, capture the exact wording and timing.

Read the price and hidden fees guide

Scam advertising

Protect money before pursuing the advert

If the ad led to fraud, contact the bank or payment provider, secure accounts and report through the correct national fraud route. Preserve the ad and report it through the platform and ASA scam-ad process where applicable. A platform report alone is not a recovery claim.

Read the scam advertising guide

Wider conduct

When Trading Standards or another regulator matters

Repeated misleading commercial practices, unsafe products or widespread consumer harm may justify Trading Standards intelligence. In England and Wales the normal consumer gateway is Citizens Advice. Sector regulators may also need information, but their role differs from individual redress.

Build the route

Use a parallel, deadline-aware plan

1. Preserve the advertisement.
2. Protect money or safety if urgent.
3. Complain to the trader for personal redress.
4. Use the ASA route for the advertising issue.
5. Add payment, ADR, ombudsman or court action where eligible.
6. Add enforcement intelligence only where it has a clear wider purpose.

Build my complaint route

Framework

Law, advertising codes and contract rights overlap

The CAP and BCAP Codes govern advertising within the ASA system. Consumer protection law addresses unfair commercial practices. Contract and misrepresentation principles may affect the individual transaction. Sector rules can add requirements for finance, telecoms, energy, travel, health and other regulated products.

Do not assume that breach of one framework automatically proves every remedy under another. Use the same evidence, but frame each complaint around the test and power of the recipient.

Audience

Context and the likely audience matter

The meaning of an ad is assessed in context, including presentation, medium, audience and qualifications. A technical statement can still create a misleading overall impression. Ads directed at children, vulnerable groups or specialist audiences may raise additional considerations.

Describe the consumer journey in the order it appeared. A clarification after the buying decision may not cure the initial impression. Equally, do not omit a prominent qualification simply because it is inconvenient to the complaint.

Evidence for claims

Objective claims should have a proper basis

Performance, environmental, health, price and comparative claims may require evidence. A consumer does not always possess the advertiser's substantiation, but can identify the objective claim and explain why available facts call it into question. Ask the trader to explain the basis and preserve the version of the claim seen.

Personal opinion and obvious exaggeration are different from measurable promises. Focus on claims likely to influence the decision.

Sector overlap

Add the specialist regulator only when it has a job

A financial promotion may involve FCA rules. Telecom claims may engage Ofcom requirements. Medicines and health products can involve specialist safety or licensing bodies. Travel claims may sit alongside aviation or package travel rights. The route should reflect the actual product and harm.

A specialist regulator may collect intelligence without awarding a refund. Keep the provider complaint and applicable ombudsman route moving.

Drafting

Write a testable advertising complaint

1. Identify the advertiser and exact communication.
2. Give the date, medium, URL and audience context.
3. State the main impression or omitted information.
4. Explain why it is misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible.
5. Attach the complete evidence and any substantiation issue.
6. Keep the individual remedy request in the trader complaint.

Outcome

Use a ruling or correction carefully

If the ad is changed or an ASA ruling is published, preserve the outcome. It may support the chronology or show that a claim should not continue. It still does not automatically calculate the loss, prove reliance or determine a private legal remedy. Explain its relevance without overstating it.

Official sources

Check the current official route