ASA tells Orange to be more explicit

Mobile operator not especially forthcoming on special offers

The advertising watchdog has slapped Orange on the wrist over complaints its terms and conditions for mobile phone services weren't as obvious as they should be.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints about a press, internet and TV advertising campaign promising existing Orange customers free minutes and texts.

According to the ASA, the complainants believed the adverts to be "misleading and dishonest" because they didn't highlight that customers needed to have completed at least nine months of their existing contract and be prepared to sign up to at least a further 12 months to get the double talk and text for free.

Customers who wanted to upgrade their handsets had to agree to an 18-month contract.

The ASA upheld the complaints, saying in its ruling: "We considered that the ads did not make the restrictions and conditions of the offers clear and were misleading."

Orange then added an extra line of terms and conditions clarifying the offer to its offline promotions and added hyperlinks highlighting exclusions to online advertising. One such pointer read: "Existing customers on 12-month contract must be in 10th month or more to be eligible. 12 month minimum term contract applies."

In its initial ruling, the watchdog also objected to Orange's promise that "all our customers" could get the deal. The ASA said: "We considered that a significant proportion of Orange customers on a minimum-term contract would not be in the last three months of their contract and would therefore be excluded from the offers." This prompted Orange to remove the word "all" from its adverts.

The ASA, however, said in its ruling that Orange had not gone far enough with these changes and told the mobile operator to amend its wording in order to highlight the conditional nature of the offer. The watchdog also told Orange it must tell customers explicitly that they will only be eligible for the offer if they agree to another 12-month contract.