Holiday season is here and you may have limited-time specials or incentives to offer. Do your advertisements comply with legislation?
The Automotive Business Regulation Section 11(2)(n) states a business operator cannot use false, misleading or deceptive statements in advertisements.
Here are some examples of non-compliant advertisements:
- The advertisement states “save on thousands,” but does not disclose the applicable vehicle model(s), terms and conditions and/or qualifications for the savings.
- The advertisement states “zero per cent interest rate,” but does not mention that it only applies to the first year of vehicle payments.
- The advertisement states “no payments for 90 days,” but does not disclose whether or not interest accrues, the related terms and conditions and/or how to qualify for no payments.
The all-in advertised price should not include incentives that are not available to every consumer, such as a membership card incentive. In an advertisement, state the all-in price first, then state prices after certain incentives, but not all incentives together if they do not apply to every consumer. Then, fully disclose who qualifies for each incentive and how it is applied to the price.
Remember, Section 6(4)(o) of the Consumer Protection Act states it is an unfair practice if “a supplier’s representation that a specific price benefit or advantage exists if it does not.” Learn more about compliant advertising practices on amvic.org.