However, we understood it was not possible to book a theory test for £31 because a compulsory booking fee of £8.50 was added to the price. We therefore noted that the minimum fee to book a theory test was £39.50. We considered that, because this was a non-optional charge applied to all customers booking a theory test, it should have been included in the headline price and the £31 claim was therefore misleading.
Furthermore, we considered that the Google sponsored search ad was likely to lead a consumer to believe they would be afforded unlimited retests for the price of £31, because the “Unlimited Retests” claim was made next to the price of £31. However, we understood that a consumer must in fact pay £59.50 to receive unlimited retests and this was only made clear to a consumer once they had visited the website. We considered that the price of £59.50 for unlimited retests should have been made clearer to a consumer within the Google sponsored search result, rather than upon them subsequently visiting the website. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.17 and 3.18 (Prices).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told BYTT to include any compulsory non-optional charges within their headline prices.
Breaking News
New Agency Name
Announced on the 28th November, the new name for the merged DSA & VOSA is the be Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. (DVSA)
The annoument went on to say;
There will be a gradual introduction of the new agency name ahead of the formal launch of the new agency in April 2014, with no change to the level or quality of services during the transition period.