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Homeplan UK
59 Carlton Street
Mansfield
NG18 2BG Complaint:
Objection to a regional press advertisement and follow-up mailing for a homeworking scheme. Both claimed "Would you stuff envelopes for £500 + weekly?
Simple, pleasant work you can do at home. £2.00 for each envelope you stuff." The mailing stated "Here is a chance to earn extra money, working at home, by becoming an active participant in our successful mailing association. You receive cash daily for the envelopes you stuff... No experience or special skills required... You may work in the comfort of your own home, choose your own hours... In addition to mailing our sales letter we will help you reap huge profits from manufacturers anxious to use your services, at no extra cost to yourself... You serve a company that pays good commissions to have their circulars mailed... This work mainly consists of the securing of envelopes through classified ads, and simply stuffing them." The complainant challenged: 1. the earnings claims; and 2. whether the advertisement and mailing described clearly the work involved. Codes Section: 3.1, 7.1, 54.5b, 54.5c (Ed 10)
Adjudication:
1. Complaint upheld The advertisers explained that there were two ways of making money from the plan and earnings were dependent on the number of hours worked by the homeworker. The advertisers claimed that someone working for a few hours a week could earn £200 and someone working full-time would earn over £500. They sent a letter from their bank; it showed five credits to the company account in one week. The Authority noted that the advertisers had earned more than £500 in one week but considered that they had not substantiated that £500 was representative of scheme participants' weekly earnings and asked them to remove the earnings claims. 2. Complaint upheld The advertisers stated that no special skills were needed to perform the work and all materials were supplied. They explained the two ways respondents could make money from the mailing: they could start up a home business using the supplied guide or they could advertise Homeplan in the press, stuff envelopes and send circulars to respondents. The Authority noted the advertisement and mailing mentioned envelope stuffing. It also noted the mailing stated "This work mainly consists of the securing of envelopes through classified ads..." but considered that that did not make clear enough that participants in the scheme had to place their own advertisements. The Authority asked the advertisers to amend the mailing, with the help of the Committee of Advertising Practice Copy Advice team, to make the nature of the work clear. |
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