TalkTalk’s free broadband claim misleading, rules ASA

A recent TV advert from Carphone Warehouse’s TalkTalk has fallen short of advertising regulations for promising ‘free’ broadband even though this was not available in certain areas of the country.

“At TalkTalk, we believe broadband should be free” said the ad. “When you get your landline from us, we give you broadband that’s free.”

10 viewers made complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that the advert was misleading because the free broadband only applied to regions where Carphone Warehouse had undertaken local loop unbundling (LLU). TalkTalk Broadband is still available to customers in non-LLU areas but the service is not free.

“The ASA noted the free broadband service was not available in all areas of the UK due to the limited coverage of LLU. We acknowledged that TalkTalk did not have control of LLU but, nevertheless, considered that the ad did not make sufficiently clear that the free broadband service was not available to all TalkTalk customers. We concluded that the ad was likely to mislead,” the advertising watchdog noted in its adjudication.

While TalkTalk’s advertising in newspapers and magazines warned customers that the free broadband service was limited to certain geographical areas, the TV adverts carried no such disclaimer.

TalkTalk told the ASA that their failure to mention the limitations of the free broadband deal on their TV adverts was a mere oversight, promising to take their current advert off air, and include the warning in future advertising.

The ASA has received a number of complaints in recent weeks concerning misleading broadband ads. It is seeking to improve transparency in the industry by introducing a new voluntary ISP code of practice, due to come into force in the new year.

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