Advertising watchdogs ban Europcar ad

Friday, 27 Sep, 2017 0

The advertising watchdog has banned an advert by Europcar in which it claimed ‘the model you choose is the model you get. Guaranteed’.

The online ad, which was seen on May 30, said: "Spoil yourself and hire a Selection vehicle. Take your pick from our prestigious range that includes models from Mercedes, Jaguar, Porsche and BMW … To book your Luxury or Fun vehicle just enter your destination above and remember, the model you choose is the model you get. Guaranteed."

Two complainants challenged whether the claim ‘guaranteed’ was misleading, questioning whether Europcar could truly guarantee the chosen model would be available.

Europcar Group UK said it had operated the guaranteed service for over two years with a considerable uptake, yet had very few issues relating to service, because the guaranteed models were monitored closely in terms of returns, repairs and service issues.

It said with over 24-hours’ notice, and if the vehicles booked were available, they would fulfil the guaranteed model reservation.

Europcar pointed out that the website stated: “If you give us less than 24 hours notice we can’t guarantee your vehicle but we will ensure you take away a vehicle that is from the same vehicle group as your chosen vehicle."

The Advertising Standards Authority noted that the terms and conditions were clearly displayed on the same web page as the advert and that Europcar monitored the guaranteed models to help meet demand.

But it ruled that this did not amount to a guarantee of availability so the claim was likely to mislead and the ad must not appear again in its current form.

Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.

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