ASA urges OFT to take action against Ryanair

The Advertising Standards Authority has asked the Office of Fair Trading to consider taking action against Ryanair.

It says its desicion follows a “catalogue of breaches of the Advertising Codes” by Ryanair over the last two years.

“Through misleadingness and unfair comparisons Ryanair has repeatedly breached the CAP Non-broadcast Advertising Code, which is designed to protect consumers and promote fair competition,” it said in a statement.

“Over a two-year period the ASA has formally investigated complaints about Ryanair’s advertisements and found them in breach on seven occasions.

“Separately, the ASA has also found Ryanair in breach of the Broadcast TV Advertising Standards Code.”

The ASA said Ryanair was persistently misleading consumers by:

– Making exaggerated claims about the extent of availability of flights at the advertised price

– Advertising prices that were not inclusive of taxes and charges

– Making misleading and denigratory comparisons with competitors

– Not stating clearly significant restrictions that would exclude customers from taking advantage of an offer

– Not providing evidence to prove the claims they were making.

It is urging the OFT to take action under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988.

The OFT acts as the legal backstop to the ASA in respect of misleading non-broadcast advertising.

Formal referrals to the OFT by the ASA are rare, the most recent being in 2005, and are only made once it has been established that an advertiser is unable to work within the rules.

ASA director general Christopher Graham said: “It is very disappointing, but absolutely necessary, that we have had to take this course of action.

“The ASA has given Ryanair every opportunity to put its house in order and ensure that its advertising adheres to the Codes.

“Instead, they have continued to mislead consumers and denigrate competitors. We would prefer to work with advertisers within the self-regulatory system rather than call in a statutory body, but Ryanair’s approach has left us with no option but to refer them to the OFT who will consider appropriate action.”

In response, Ryanair issued a detailed and lengthy statement saying it has submitted a formal complaint to the OFT regarding “the unfair procedures, bias and factually untrue rulings made by the ASA against seven of Ryanair’s adverts over the past two years”.

“The ASA has demonstrated a repeated lack of independence, impartiality or fairness where Ryanair is concerned by making factually inaccurate and untrue findings in response (in some cases) to totally baseless and unsubstantiated alleged complaints,” it claimed.

Ryanair’s Peter Sherrard said: “The ASA had abandoned any attempt at independence or impartiality when ruling on Ryanair’s adverts. This unelected quango’s Director General has a stated policy of “fighting back” against Ryanair’s justified public criticisms of its bizarre, factually inaccurate and untenable rulings.

“We are calling on the OFT to examine this catalogue of mal-administration, bias and incompetence by the ASA, and require in future that the ASA rules on Ryanair’s adverts in an independent, impartial, fair and reasonable manner.

“Fairness and impartiality is the least that advertisers should be entitled to expect from an unelected, self-regulating quango like the ASA and its impartial Director General. Sadly Ryanair has received neither over the past two years from the ASA”.

By : Bev Fearis