12
APRIL 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
A Stark Warning for choosing
to use Misleading Marketing
New appointment to
boost digital to the max
Trade and consumer advertisements have been appearing featuring the claim
‘A-rated glass as standard’
or similar. This is incorrect
because, as BFRC registered
companies will know, there
is no such thing as ‘A-rated
glass.’
Synseal’s busy marketing
department welcomes a new
Digital Marketing Manager in
the shape of Max Muscroft,
who has joined the company
after completing 19 years of
distinguished service working at major car dealers TC
Harrison Group.
“There is no scheme in the UK
that rates glass in isolation.” Explains BFRC technical director, Dr
Gary Morgan, “all WER schemes
operate in an identical way; rating
the whole window including glass,
frames, spacer bars and gaskets. It
is not possible under current European Regulations to provide an
energy rating for glass in isolation
from the other window components.
“Whilst it is true that certain
glazing specifications are widely
used in ‘A’ and ‘A+’ rated windows,
the glazing itself does not guarantee an ‘A’ or ‘A+’ rating for the
whole window. The frame system
also has to be thermally efficient
to enable the complete window to
obtain a favourable rating.”
Morgan adds: “Claims of A-rated
glass, and the like are obviously
designed to give the impression
that the window itself is ‘A’ or ‘A+’
rated, which is misleading.”
BFRC managing director, Chris
Mayne, adds: “BFRC’s wants to
correct false claims regarding
window and door energy ratings.
When such misleading claims are
used in marketing then Trading
Standards and the Advertising
Standards Authority can get involved.”
“An advertising claim that a type
of glass is A energy rated is likely
to breach the Business Protection
from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (and/or Consumer
Protection from Unfair Trading
2008) if, as BFRC has outlined, the
claim is meaningless in relation
to glass but is likely to be understood as indicating a more
energy-efficient product than other
types of glass,” explains a Trading
Standards spokesperson.
Misleading advertising is described as material that in any
way, including its presentation,
deceives or is likely to deceive the
1991
APECS
HARDWARE
GROUP
FROM THE
BEGINNING…
traders to whom it is addressed or
whom it reaches; and by reason
of its deceptive nature, is likely
to affect their economic behavior;
or, for those reasons, injures or is
likely to injure a competitor.
Trading Standards adds: “An
offence under the Regulations can
attract a £5,000 fine if heard in
magistrates’ court, or an unlimited
fine and/or 2 years’ imprisonment
if heard at crown court. Enforcement is by local authority trading
standards officers.”
The Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) also has a view.
“The ASA is reminding advertisers in the glazing sector of the
importance of ensuring their ad
claims can be substantiated and
don’t mislead. Misleading ads give
an unfair advantage to businesses
that don’t play by the rules, they
also erode consumer trust.” commented Matt Wilson, ASA Communications & Marketing Manager.
The digital environment, including social media, is a fast-paced
and ever-developing arena and
Max has been involved with websites and digital communications
ever since the birth of the internet.
To this end, Max helped Ford and
JCB develop online car retailing
as both these major manufacturers
were franchises to TC Harrison
1993
Andrey Goncharov
Apecs started to
founded Russian door
produce its range of
hardware giants, APECS
own branded products.
Group, producing a
range of heavy duty
mortise locks and
hardware with its Russian
manufacturing partners.
Group. Now Max has made the
move across from promoting and
selling dreams of shiny metal
vehicles to marketing Synseal’s diverse range of home improvement
products, including the very latest
WarmCore aluminium folding
sliding doors.
“There’s a daunting learning
curve on joining the Synseal
team”, says Max, “however, I’ve
really enjoyed getting stuck into
the business and meeting some of
the customers to help them with
web builds and e-marketing. We’ve
taken the bold step to totally overhaul Synseal’s digital assets and
ensure that our company websites
are fully responsive and will work
well on all available viewing platforms; laptops, tablets and mobile
phones. This is crucial in today’s
marketplace. I’m currently renewing Masterdor and Sheerframe
websites in the wake of the recent
acquisition and we will be launching a totally new and improved
web-building, hosting and maintenance service to benefit Synseal
purchasing account customers and
Synseal Registered Installers in the
very near future.”
For further information contact
01623 446207
1995
Apecs expanded its
regional company to a
federal trading level and
through its partnership
with GuangYou,
started to manufacture
products in China
making production much
more cost effective.