Amazon slammed by ASA for ‘misleading’ delivery charges

ComplianceLegal

When is ‘free delivery’ really free delivery Ad watchdog considers

Amazon has been dragged over the coals for “misleading” delivery charges by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ASA has ordered the e-tailer to clarify its delivery charges for individual products after it found that customers were being “misled”. A customer complained to the regulatory body about an item that appeared to be eligible for free delivery.

amazon primeA listing said an item at £18.49 was eligible for free delivery, but the product page stated “free delivery in the UK on orders over £20”.

The customer had complained that the ads were misleading, after being told they had to pay a delivery charge at the checkout. This was despite adding a second item to their basket which took the order above £20.

Amazon had argued that in this case it had made it clear that products dispatched by third parties were not eligible for free delivery. They therefore did not count towards the minimum amount required to make the order eligible for that offer.

But the ASA said customers would believe that “eligible for free UK delivery” meant a delivery charge for the product could be waived, and that “free Delivery in the UK on orders over £20” meant customers would not be charged for delivery if the total of the order was over £20.

The ASA said: “We concluded the ads did not make sufficiently clear which items were eligible for free delivery, and under what terms, and that they were therefore misleading.”

@AntonySavvas

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