It is the second time this year that Raffle House has been rapped by the ASA, following a ruling in June over changes to its entry process.
On this occasion, complaints were raised over claims made by the firm on its website, in an email and a Facebook post. Two complaints centred on ads for a competition to win a £650,000 flat, with concerns raised over whether a property worth the quoted price ‒ or reasonable equivalents ‒ were actually awarded.
A third complaint followed a paid-for post on Facebook, which stated: “We’ve seen you looking. Be in with the chance of calling a £500,000 London property your home in 2020! Our previous winner, [Winner’s name], had her life changed through Raffle House, will you be next?” Further text stated “Live in London for a tenner.”
The complainant understood the previous winner had won a cash prize of less than the advertised property, and argued it misleadingly suggested they had won a house of a similar value.
Raffle House argued that its cash prize of more than £173,000 had been awarded at better odds than described for a property raffle, making it more than reasonable as an equivalent, and also pointed out that it had never actually said that the previous winner in the Facebook post had won a property, rather than cash.
However, the ASA was unconvinced, and upheld all of the complaints.
It said: “We told Raffle House Ltd to ensure in future that they awarded the prizes as described in their marketing communications or reasonable equivalents, and that their future advertising did not mislead by exaggerating the value of a prize that had been previously awarded.”
Benno Spencer, founder and chief executive of Raffle House, said the firm was now less than 20,000 entrants away from the 60,000 ticket threshold, and was confident that it would be awarding its current property in three months.
He added: “Following our first competition, where we awarded a life-changing £173,000, we’ve taken steps to ensure that our more than 40,000 users have the chance to win the £500,000 London flat currently on offer for £10, as well as our weekly £1,000 cash-prizes, all the while continuing to raise money for our homelessness charity partners. Our winners’ list continues to grow and we can’t wait to add a homeowner to it soon.”
Taylor Wimpey and Let Alliance
The ASA has also informally resolved two more issues involving property firms.
A complaint was raised about letting firm Let Alliance, which had sent out an email selling insurance to a renter with the subject line ‘We are now at the final stage of referencing’.
The complainant argued that the insurance product was not essential, and the email may not be obviously identifiable as marketing. The case was closed after Let Alliance assured the ASA it would address the issue.
The other case involved house builder Taylor Wimpey, and centred on an ad that appeared on Facebook for a new development. A complaint was raised over the fact that no properties on the development were available at the advertised price.
Taylor Wimpey agreed to amend the price, so the case was closed.
