ASA raps Orange over 'unlimited' claims

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a challenge from T-Mobile after rival Orange ran a magazine advert for a home broadband service touting 'unlimited' UK and international calls to 100 countries and 'unlimited' downloads.

The ad stated: 'It's easy to stay close to friends and family all year round with wireless home broadband from Orange. You also get unlimited UK and international calls to 100 countries and unlimited downloads. All from home.'

Small print stated: 'Home phone line is needed ... Other terms apply, see Orange.co.uk/terms.'

T-mobile challenged whether the claims 'unlimited UK and international calls to 100 countries' and 'unlimited downloads' were misleading, because both are subject to a fair usage policy which was not stated in the ad and

Orange said that its Talk service and downloads service were subject to a fair usage policy, and that the omission of a reference to this in the small print was a result of an error in the production of the ad.

Orange said that the ad was prepared in-house and that it has no plans to use it again in its current form.

The company will continue to use the 'unlimited downloads' claim in relation to its Unlimited product. But, in accordance with normal practice, Orange will ensure that the ads contain a reference to the fair usage policy.

The ASA concluded that, because it did not include a reference to Orange's fair usage policies for the Talk service and the unlimited downloads, the ad was misleading and hence breached the ASA's Substantiation and Truthfulness codes.

The watchdog has told Orange to ensure that it includes a reference to its fair usage policy when using an unlimited claim in future, and advised the firm to seek guidance from the ASA for future ads.