British Gas forced to retract advertisement:
British Gas has been ordered to stop using an advertisement claiming that "every 60 seconds someone switches back to British Gas" after it was found the figure could not be backed up. The Centrica-owned company, which has been losing large numbers of customers, used the claim at the heart of much of its TV and billboard advertising. Following two complaints and an investigation, the Advertising Standards Authority has told the company it can no longer use the ad unless there is "sufficient substantiation to back up the claims". News of the ruling comes as British Gas has gone on a marketing offensive to win back former customers by phoning them at home with promises of fixed prices. The adverts, which appeared all over the UK but were heavily run in Scotland, attracted a complaint from a rival supplier, Scottish Power. A member of the public also objected after he calculated they suggested that more than 526,000 customers a year had returned. During the investigation British Gas said the "every 60 seconds" ad had been approved by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre and the Committee of Advertising Practice. However, it acknowledged the figures included customers joining them who had not previously been British Gas customers. The company has offered to amend the advertisements. Former customers have reported being phoned at home by British Gas staff trying to entice customers back by promising them no further price increases for two years and a fall in charges in 2009, though most analysts are predicting residential gas prices have reached their peak and should soon start falling. 15.11.06