The Advertising Standards Agency has criticized Tiscali over its advertising in relation to broadband prices

It seems as though the Advertising Standards Agency in the UK really has its work cut out when it comes to broadband providers at the moment. It is already dealing with a complaint made by Sky about misleading advertising from Virgin, and has had to deal with a flood of complaints relating to misleading advertising from a number of Internet Service Providers over claims of ‘unlimited’ broadband that is not actually unlimited because of the fair usage policies that are in place.

Another case that the Advertising Standards Agency has been dealing with involves broadband provider Tiscali. The case involves a radio advertisement that was run by Tiscali, and which received complaints and criticism from British Telecom as well as from a number of members of the public. Upon investigation of the radio advertisement from Tiscali, the Advertising Standards Agency decided to uphold the complaint, stating that certain parts of the advertise needed to be clearer.

The complaint relates to the Tiscali £9.99 broadband offer, which has been advertised via the radio. According to the complaint that was made by members of the public and British Telecom, the advert centred on the £9.99 deal, but when it came to the terms and conditions – which included the vital information that the £9.99 was only for a three month period after which the price would go up by fifty percent to £14.99 – the volume was lowered and the speed of the statement being made was increased, making it difficult for listeners to pick up on these vital details.

Having investigated the complaint and evaluated the advertisement, the Advertising Standards Agency stated that there was a significant difference in speed and volume when the terms and conditions were being stated in the ad, and that Tiscali needed to make this part of the advertisement far clearer to avoid misleading listeners.