Argos advert banned for delivery claimsWatchdog rules the advert is 'misleading'
02 December 2010
An Argos advert promising 'we can deliver what you want at a time slot that's right for you', has been banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).
The advertising watchdog ruled that this claim was misleading, and that the advert should not be shown again as a result.
To see how Which? rates Argos' service rates, check out our online shops survey, which covers electrical appliances, toys and games, home and garden products and digital entertainment.
Up to eight-hour wait for delivery
The ASA said that the ad implied that customers 'had a wide degree of choice about when their goods would be delivered', when this was not the case.
Argos offers two delivery slots for most items - a morning slot from 7am to 1pm, or an afternoon slot from 12pm to 8pm. This means that customers could end up waiting for up to eight hours for an item to be delivered.
Three delivery slots of five or six hours are offered for bulky items.
Argos' response
Argos argued that offering a morning or an afternoon slot was in keeping with the claim '...at a time slot that's right for you'.
It also pointed out that the day before the delivery, it would call or text the customer to advise them of a two-hour time slot in which an order would be delivered.
However, the ASA rejected Argos' arguments, saying that the ad implied that customers could specify a delivery time of their choosing, which was not the case.
Which? RSS and Twitter news feeds
For daily consumer news, subscribe to the Which? consumer news RSS feed. If you have an older web browser you may need to copy and paste http://www.which.co.uk/feeds/news.xml into your newsreader. Find out more about RSS in the Which? guide about how to use news feeds and newsreaders.
You can also follow @WhichHome on Twitter for the latest home appliance reviews and news.
Kitchen gadgets on test
Which? can help you kit out your kitchen - we've independently reviewed large and small appliances from the leading brands, at all price ranges, including:
- built-in ovens, cookers and hobs
- fridge freezers, dishwashers and microwave ovens
- coffee makers, kettles and toasters
You can read the results of our latest tests and see the products we recommend as Which? Best Buys, as well as the ones we don't.
