ASA Uphold Complaint against Rapid Sale

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint submitted by KwikChex regarding Rapid Sale www.rapid-sale.co.uk.

The investigation by KwikChex challenged whether the claim “Stop Repossession/Eviction – Cash in Bank in 7 Days ‘Guaranteed” was misleading and could be substantiated.

Rapid Sale provided a statement from their solicitor confirming that, subject to obtaining redemption statements and settlement figures, they were able to complete transactions within seven days of agreement with the client and had done so even sooner on some occasions.

However, the ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim “Cash in Bank in 7 Days ‘Guaranteed’” as a statement that customers of the advertiser would always receive the money for their property in seven days. The ASA also considered that consumers would appreciate that the sale of property could be delayed by sellers not providing vital paperwork or other such requisite information, and would therefore understand that the “guaranteed” claim would not apply to these circumstances. The solicitor’s statement provided by the advertiser was therefore constituted not sufficiently robust evidence to demonstrate that clients providing their necessary documentation always received their money within seven days.

The ASA therefore upheld the complaint and concluded that the claim was misleading and the ad must not appear again in its current form.

The details of the ASA adjudication can be found on the ASA website – https://www.asa.org.uk