Last week the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued a ruling about an online wine retailer called Winedrops.  The ruling dealt with two issues: pricing/discount claims and inaccurate review ratings. Two areas that are also very much under the CMA's spotlight too, so it is interesting to get the ASA's take on this. 

A paid-for Facebook ad featured images of three bottles of wine alongside a table comparing the "Price You're Used To" with "Our Price". The ad stated the "Price You're Used To" as £50, £25 and £15 respectively for Whispering Angel Rose, Veuve Clicquot and 19 Crimes. It stated Winedrops' prices as £26, £10 and £7 respectively.

A sponsored Instagram story featured the text: "So cheap you'll think it's a scam...until the wine gets delivered". Underneath, five white stars appeared in green squares, resembling Trustpilot ratings.

On sparkling form?

One complainant understood that the "Price You're Used To" was higher than the price at which the wines could be bought from other retailers, and challenged if the implied savings claims could be substantiated and were misleading.

One complainant understood that Winedrops had a low rating on Trustpilot accompanied by a warning that it was "displaying Trustpilot content in a way that could be misleading", and so challenged if the implied ratings could be substantiated and were misleading.

Pricing

Winedrops admitted that they had made pricing errors in the ad. They used average prices from a price-comparison, e-commerce platform for wines and spirits for their own price comparisons. They provided evidence of the prices they charged at a specific point in time, but explained that they did not keep a pricing history of their products. They emphasised that they regularly offered discounts rather than keeping one price for a sustained period.

It's gone flat

The ASA considered that consumers would interpret the phrase "Price You're Used to" as the price at which the products were generally sold across the market. It considered that Winedrops had not shown that the "Price You're Used to" prices quoted in the ad were those at which the products were generally sold across the market. It also considered that the ad, which did not give the date on which the comparison was made or how the "Price You're Used to" was determined, did not make the basis of the comparison clear.  Therefore, the implied savings claims had not been substantiated and so were misleading.

Trustpilot rating

Winedrops clarified that the review and accompanying rating was posted on their own website. Winedrops also said they had thousands of five-star reviews on Trustpilot and that their overall rating was 4.4. They also queried why they were not allowed to use white stars on a green background to display a rating from a customer and said that other companies were using that design when referring to customer reviews.

The ASA considered that consumers were likely to interpret the rating, which was presented as five white stars in green squares, as the official Trustpilot rating for the company.  However, the review and rating in the ad had been left by an individual customer on the Winedrops website and was not the Trustpilot rating for the company. Winedrops was rated 4.4 on Trustpilot according to the link they provided during the investigation. However, the ASA had not seen evidence of their rating on Trustpilot at the time the ad was seen by the complainant and, in any event, a rating of 4.4 was not the same as a five-star rating, as was shown in the ad.

Put a cork in it

Because the rating appeared to be a five-star Trustpilot rating for the company, and the ASA had not seen evidence that Winedrops had a rating of five stars on Trustpilot at the time the complainant had seen the ad, it concluded that the ad was misleading.

Our take

The rulings throw up a number of issues. Firstly, get your pricing right and be especially careful when using reference pricing.  Secondly, don't refer to Trustpilot ratings if you can't be accurate about them.  Thirdly, a 4.4 rating is not a five-star rating.  Fourthly, just because other businesses are doing something doesn't make it ok.

From April, most consumer law aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) come into force.  The Act introduces new enforcement powers for the CMA, as well as new rules regarding unfair commercial practices (including misleading pricing claims) and fake reviews (now a blacklisted/banned practice).  

This time, Winedrops received a rap on the knuckles.  Next time, the CMA could come calling, with the prospect of heavy fines.

For more information on the Act, visit our Get DMCC ready hub.