On 10 March 2021, the Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling banning an advert by DSG Retail Limited t/a Currys, PC World, Currys PC World deciding it had irresponsibly encouraged the use of credit to finance excessive spending on Christmas gifts.
The advert referred to a ‘buy now, pay later’ regulated credit agreement provided by Creation Consumer Finance Limited under which the consumer would pay no interest if the balance was repaid in the first six months but, if the consumer decided to pay over the agreement’s term (which was longer than 6 month), interest would be charged for the full period of the agreement (including the first 6 months). The representative APR was 24.9%.
The ASA considered “the combination of the sequence of those scenes and the voice-over statement, “Give everyone you love a little ‘oooh’ this Christmas. Buy now, pay nothing for six months” would lead viewers to understand that the dissatisfied individuals in the first part of the ad had not used or considered a ‘pay later’ method to buy or search for those items, but that the gifts shown in the second part of the ad had been purchased using the ‘pay later’ credit option with Currys PC World”.
The ASA decided that “the ad’s messaging explicitly connected the use of a form of credit with deferred payment to buying more expensive gifts, and making people’s loved ones happy with their presents at Christmas as a result”. The ASA went on to decide that “[p]articularly in the context of the global pandemic and the associated financial difficulties for many people, we concluded the ad irresponsibly encouraged the use of credit to finance excessive spending on Christmas gifts, and was in breach” of BCAP Code rule 1.2 (responsible advertising).
The ASA ruled the advert “must not appear again in the form complained about” and adverts in the future must not “irresponsibly encourage excessive spending through the use of credit, particularly in relation to purchasing higher value Christmas gifts with a ‘pay later’ payment method”.