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ASA complaints upheld against Money Advisor

Victoria Hartley
Written By:
Posted:
May 5, 2021
Updated:
May 5, 2021

A Bolton-based debt advice service, Money Advisor, has been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for suggesting it was a debt counsellor and associated with the government-funded Money Advice Service in a TV ad.

 

A TV ad which ran in January received two complaints, centering on several assertions including the fact it could help write off 100 per cent of someone’s ‘unaffordable debt.’ Other claims included the fact they could provide debt advice although the firm is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to do so and is instead a lead provider.

Another complaint challenged whether the use of the Money Advice Service name and logo in the TV ad misleadingly suggested an association with that service, which the standards authority upheld.

In its defence, Money Advisor confirmed that its business involved validating consumers’ details before passing them on to an insolvency practitioner. Clearcast said that it was common practice for companies to act as agents on behalf of others.

Asa upheld four out of the five complaints made against the firm, including its misleading use of the Money Advice Service (MAS) logo and five-star customer reviews on its website giving the appearance of linking the businesses.

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In its ruling, Asa said the ad must not be shown again in the same form and Money Advisor was told to ensure its future marketing communications did not mislead by implying it was qualified to offer debt advice or help consumers write off debt among a raft of other stipulations.