TalkTalk ticked-off for "free" broadband ad

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 12 Dec 2007 at 09:44

TalkTalk has become the latest ISP to fall foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for advertising "free" broadband.

A brochure ad for TalkTalk claimed: "This year, why not join our Talk3 call plan and get up to 8 Meg (speed depends on proximity to exchange) broadband free!" However, customers had to sign an 18-month contract to qualify for the package.

BT complained about the advert, claiming that the previous minimum contract length on Talk3 deals was only 12 months, and so by increasing the burden on the consumer, the broadband element couldn't be described as "free".

The ASA upheld the complaint, ruling that "because the contractual agreement of 'Talk 3 with free broadband' was more onerous than that of its call plan only predecessor Talk 3, we considered that package should be classed as 'new'".

Political football

The TalkTalk ruling is just the latest in a string of ASA cases involving broadband providers, where the only complaint made was by a rival ISP.

Has the ASA simply become a way for broadband providers to take cheap shots at one another? "The ASA does not want to get into tit-for-tat," says a spokesman for the ASA. "It's a very competitive market and we have to respond to complaints. The broadband issue is continually under the microscope."

The spokesman adds that the ASA is in regular contact with the ISPs, and has recently tightened the rules on the advertising of "free" broadband.

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