How to complain to the ASA
In the world of comping, things don’t always run smoothly. There are dodgy promoters, dodgy compers and even dodgy prizes! With social media so widely used, complaining is easier and more effective than it used to be. In most cases, you can contact promoters on social media, and as a result complaints are usually dealt with swiftly for fear of a PR disaster. Most promoters will act on a polite message or tweet, and work to get things fixed.
In some cases though, promoters can be rather stubborn, and you might decide to submit a formal complaint to the ASA if you think a competition or prize draw has been unfairly run. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) makes sure all advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful. All prize promotions must comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice (the CAP Code). If you believe a promotion or advertisement is in breach of the CAP Code, you can complain.
Don’t worry that complaining will affect your chance of winning with a certain promoter. When you complain, your name will NOT usually be disclosed to the promoter – unless for example, you’re chasing a missing prize in which case the promoter will need to know who you are.
The ASA doesn’t have the authority to insist a prize is awarded, or to issue fines to offenders. But in most cases the ASA involvement or published ruling will be educational for the promoter or agency involved, who will hopefully conduct their promotions in a fairer manner in future! This year I submitted three complaints to the ASA about unfairly administered Instagram promotions, and all three brands are now conducting their prize draws properly.
Most people aren’t actually aware of what you can complain to the ASA about, and you can find lots of examples in my post How to complain about a competition.
Examples of competition related complaints include:
- A winner who didn’t comply with the T&Cs
- A ‘fake’ winner in a prize promotion, or a winner who works for the promoter
- A competition to win a ‘family holiday’ which, when you check the T&Cs, can’t be taken during school holidays (see Family holiday prizes… in term time?)
- A scam Facebook page giving away thousands of iPads
- A prize that hasn’t showed up after 28 days (see How to chase a missing prize)
- A voting competition where the winner cheated by purchasing or exchanging fake votes online
- A Facebook competition stating the ‘most creative’ entry will win, but the promoter then puts it to a public vote
These are just a few examples of complaints. There are many reasons for someone to complain to the ASA – and we don’t do it enough. Every dodgy comp or promoter we complain about is a reason for the ASA and CAP to take a long hard look at how badly a lot of competitions and prize draws are conducted in the UK – especially on social media.
How to complain to the ASA
First of all, collect everything you can to help the ASA with their investigation – you can upload file attachments to the complaint form. The earlier you make a complaint, the more likely it is that the ASA can act while the prize promotion is still live – be sure to submit your complaint within three months of the advertising appearing.
- Printed materials – take a photo or scan the entry form, magazine advert, etc.
- Web addresses/URLs for the promotion or T&Cs – click in your browser address bar to select the web address and copy it. To find the link to a tweet or Facebook post click the ‘timestamp’ under the post (eg. 4 hrs or Oct 24) to open in a new window, then copy the link from your browser bar.
- Screenshots – take screenshots of promotional material, social posts and T&Cs in case the promoter changes the information on their website or social media pages.
- Text – copy and paste the original details/T&Cs of the promotion into a text file and save it.
It’s a good idea to type up your complaint details in a Notes app, Google Doc or Word doc first – then copy and paste into the ASA form.
Then, go to the Make a Complaint page at www.asa.org.uk and click Continue to submit your complaint.
- Select Are you complaining as a member of the public?
- Choose the type of promotion/advertisement you’re complaining about. For compers, example categories could be Online > On social media or On Packaging > An on-pack promotion
- Say where and when you saw the promotion, and the brand or product – if it’s online, add a link to the advert (you can leave additional links in the main complain description)
- Add a detailed description of your complaint, referring to the CAP Code if you know which rules it breached
- Upload photos or screenshots to your form
- Add your contact details
You can click on any step to go back and edit before clicking Submit.
What happens next
When the ASA receives your submission, you will get an automatic email with a case reference. They will then decide whether to act on your complaint, and let you know. The ASA may be able to resolve the complaint quickly by contacting the promoter, rather than conducting a formal investigation – for example, they could chase up an undelivered prize. Formal investigations take longer. The advertiser will be contacted and asked to provide evidence, the ASA Council will decide whether or not the CAP Code has been breached, and a ruling of ‘Upheld’ (the ASA agrees with your complaint) or ‘Not Upheld’ (the ASA disagrees) will be published on the ASA website. If the complaint is ‘Not Upheld’ no further action is taken.
If you’re not happy with the ASA ruling, there is an Independent Review Procedure that allows complainants and advertisers to request a review within 21 days of the ASA decision.
Rulings are published on the ASA website every week and in some cases the national press have picked up on stories of promotions gone bad. If the rules have been breached, the advertisement must be changed or withdrawn. This rarely occurs with prize promotions as by the time an investigation is conducted, the promotion is usually over. Persistent offenders may be referred to Trading Standards or Ofcom for further action.
Examples of rulings widely covered in the press include Molly-Mae Hague’s Instagram prize draw and Brewdog’s gold can promotion.
And finally…
If you do have a problem with a prize promotion, do your best to sort it out directly via email or social media. A polite Facebook post or message can sometimes be enough for a promoter to realise they’ve made a mistake and fix it – and hopefully they won’t make that mistake again!
Most promoters and agencies don’t want the bad publicity of an ASA ruling against them, but if you’ve done all you can with no luck then don’t be afraid to register a formal complaint with the ASA – and let me know how you get on.
Further reading:
Hi. I have been sending in some free entries to a few different car competitions as I am currently off work and have some time on my hands. Most have been working fine (with a few tickets being late or lost which you can understand to some extent with the current climate) but one particular company has consistently said they have not received my entries. I have now sent more than 30 1st class over 4 separate dates, all with plenty of time to arrive (4 working days+). I am highly suspicious that they are just ignoring them as I can’t imagine that many all getting lost etc. Obviously I could just give up on them but if they are breaking the rules it just doesn’t sit right. I have considered sending one tracked but it is hard to sort that on a postcard as you have very limited space and I would rather not have the cost or inconvenience of driving into the city to a postbox for one entry. Any suggestions?
Is the address a PO Box or real address Tim? I think they’re just fed up of you and don’t want to include you in the draw! Could you try an entry with a friend’s details and see if they get confirmation of the entry?
I would also contact the ASA and ask them to contact the company and ask them to prove that they’re conducting a random draw from all entries using an independent adjudicator.
Some good advice.
I have found two sites that seem to be ‘bending’ the rules. The first states all postal entries are to be send by 1st class. My understanding is it should be either 1st or 2nd?
I have also seen one site stating you must send a hand written postcard. That seems to be making it more difficult when a paid entry would obviously be much easier to do…..
Just been abused by a promotor of a comp, baned from her page. and criticized for comping.
Sorry to hear this Krystal – I assume it’s a small business rather than a well known brand?
Good morning, after scouring the internet to find something relevant to my situation, I saw this article and wondered if you could advise me.
I won a competition and the promoter of said competition is now refusing to supply my prize, stating that he is no longer responsible for the competition and that, due to the current climate, can no longer afford to award said prize(a value of ~£20).
This goes into areas of video games and virtual companies and could be quite difficult to explain in detail, though I would be willing to try!
More than anything, it is the principal of the thing. We know each other and he refuses to accept any responsibility in the matter.
Feel free to use my email if a full description is required. Please advise.
Hi Andrew, you could tell him you’re considering reporting him to the ASA and it would be easier for him if he awarded you the prize rather than him having to handle an official ASA complaint!
Hi Won a competition on Facebook in December spa vouchers £250 and I still haven’t received them yet spoke to them numerous times saying they had sent them and then they said willlook in to this ignoring my messages I’m fed up now what can i do ?
secret yorkshire ?
No was in Facebook tantactic
Have you waited 28 days since winning? Royal Mail have had lots of problems since Christmas! There’s some advice in this post about chasing a prize politely – https://superlucky.me/how-to-chase-up-a-prize/
Dancers Hill House competition changed the closing date. I requested a refund and the seller/promoter promptly engaged in stalling tactics. Although the entry receipt gave my address, they refused to send a refund cheque and instead asked for my bank details which I obviously refused to give.
Even if the promoter has agreed a change in closing dates because the terms changed the entrant is entitled to get their money back. I will be instructing my credit card company to get my money back.
Any one remotely thinking of entering this competition should think again.
These ‘win a house’ competitions are a nightmare! So many of them seem to extend the closing date to try and sell more tickets – I can’t understand how they get away with it! I only enter the ones where they offer a free postal route. I do hope the trend will disappear soon though – I think only one or two houses have actually been won this way, it’s usually a small cash alternative that’s given away.
Hi Di! New comper here, and loving your blog! Thanks for all the info. I have a question about promoters who award prizes to contestants that have not followed the T&Cs, eg. must use #AOWin to enter, but the winning comment did not have the hashtag included. There are more T&Cs that say their decision is final and they will not go into any correspondence about their decision. But, this just seems unfair to have a specific requirement and then not bother following it. Just having a mildly peeved rant. Thanks again! (@AO instagram/facebook competition from august 2019)
Sorry – I didn’t spot this comment back in August! If a big company does this and you complain politely (either yourself, or via the ASA), quite often they will award another prize to a winner who entered correctly – but also honour the original prize too.
Hello I won a competition on Instagram in November for a holiday to Portugal and they are fobbing me off and the PR company in the UK, who are arranging the prize, keep telling me that they can’t get in touch with the hotel and there’s nothing they can do? What can I do!
There’s some advice in this post – https://superlucky.me/how-to-chase-up-a-prize/
I would contact the PR company and make them aware that you plan to complain to the ASA. It sounds like the promoter (the hotel?) is in Portugal though, and unfortunately the ASA can’t investigate promotions from outside the UK.
Any advice? I won £200 of vouchers from Instagram which have been submitted to me as 2 x £100 vouchers. Apparently, I can oy use one voucher at a time, and for each one, there’s a minimum spend of £24.99. There’s no terms and conditions and the competition did not state that there was a minimum spend. This means I’m going to have to spend almost £50 of my own money to redeem my vouchers. Do I just suck it up and appreciate £250 worth of goods for £50? Although technically, I don’t have this sort of money to spend and wouldn’t have entered if I’d have known. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hi Di, any advice would be appreciated…. I received an email from Utilita saying id won a pair of Rayban Aviator sunglasses and could I send an email with my details for my prize to be sent out within 5 days. I did this straight away. They have now sent me an email saying its an error. I haven’t won. I’m furious! and upset. Can I push this further? Should I be awarded my prize? the email was addressed to me – Thanks Claire x
I saw your Facebook post earlier Claire and see they’re sending you a small gift as an apology. I’m presuming this was an error where the same ‘winning’ email was sent to all entrants, or was it just to you? This happens quite often and in many cases a ‘computer error’ or a staff error is blamed and the promoter can usually get away with it, and maybe send out an apologetic discount code to everyone. It’s very disappointing for you though.
Thanks for this Di, I have just made my first ASA complaint and this was very handy.
Thanks for the post. I had a prize that I won in December for tickets to an event in February. I never got the tickets or anything else so I followed your instructions. I made a complaint and the ASA emailed to say that the company advertising the competition and prize had broken the code and they had advised the company of this. I called and queried what was happening about the prize and they said they don’t do that and my best bet was to contact the company again. I did and had a reply back saying that they have removed the advert from December from Facebook and that legally, they don’t need to do anything else. Is this true? Is there any other way of getting the company to send me an equivalent prize to the one I won and have never received?
Fantastic post, I have just made a complaint about a comp not being run fairly and rules not being clear after advising the company they had not followed the asa guidelines they stopped replying so, I have reported it. I think they thought I was bluffing but they dont know me very well 🙂
Thanks for this! Just posted my first complaint about a promoter. Wasn’t going to bother as it looked like they had gone out of business (all online activity had ceased and the website went ofline) but they’re back up and running this week – and still not replying to me!
Great info, I had a problem, but only had certain screenshots to rely on, not the url’s or anything. I feel like a vigilante but I think everybody should put the heat on promoters, we all know who offenders are on twitter every week for example. It would be nice for everyone to start on a level playing field.