The ASA considered a consumer complaint against a flyer promoting "Winter Special Gym membership. The advertisement promoted, inter alia, "Winter Special of a lifetime R79.00 per months”.
The complainant submitted that the advertised price applied only if one signed a 3-year contract, and paid in full upfront. This information was omitted from the flyer.
All reasonable steps were taken by the ASA to elicit a response from the advertiser, but the advertiser failed to respond. Therefore, the Directorate had no option but to accept the complainant’s submissions as a true reflection of the facts.
Based on the information before it, the ASA ruled that the advertisement was misleading because it omitted material information and created a misleading expectation about the costs involved.
Members are therefore requested not to accept advertising from Fit-Xtreme (Pty) Ltd promoting its "Winter Special of a lifetime” membership at a cost of R79,00 per month.