Prudential has been ordered to alter the launch advertising for its
Egg direct banking offshoot after the Advertising Standards Authority
ruled that its claim to offer an instant access account should carry a
caveat pointing out that access to funds is not strictly instant.
The ruling followed a complaint from one of Egg’s competitors, Standard
Life, which pointed out that small print in Egg’s work said it reserved
the right not to allow withdrawals for 60 days in some
circumstances.
Standard Life also complained that at least three days’ notice was
required for withdrawals, which it claimed did not count as instant
access.
Caroline Crawford, director of communications at the ASA, said the
Association had not conducted a formal investigation into the case but
had based its decision on a past precedent. In an earlier case involving
Direct Line, the ASA ruled that the term ’instant access’ should not be
used when it takes three days to transfer funds.
The ASA is now waiting for a response from Egg and says it will change
its ruling if the bank can demonstrate that the regulator has
misinterpreted the Egg literature.
Egg launched last month with an pounds 8 million campaign through HHCL &
Partners.
As well as press and TV ads, the campaign includes sponsorship of
several Channel 4 programmes and a website.
The ASA’s ruling against Direct Line in February this year followed
complaints that its Instant Access account required account holders to
have money transferred to another account before they could withdraw it.
