Green Deal Finance Company 'Misled' Consumers

The taxpayer-backed finance company for the government’s Green Deal energy efficiency scheme breached advertising rules by making misleading claims about the savings on offer, in the latest setback for the scheme. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled there had been breaches by the Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC), which provides finance for loans for households to install measures such as insulation or a new boiler, under the Green Deal. The ASA found that GDFC misled consumers by failing to make clear that they may be able to finance the measures much more cheaply using a credit card or personal loan, and that they were not guaranteed to save any money by signing up for a Green Deal. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

ALMO Rapped Over Loan Sharks Warning

An ALMO has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority for a leaflet warning about the activities of loan sharks. The regulator ruled the Stevenage Homes leaflet was ‘misleading’ as it suggested a company called the Money Shop was a doorstep lender and loan shark. It actually offers month-long pay day loans, which the ASA said did not come under either category. Stevenage Homes argued that it understood the type of loans offered by the Money Shop, and its leaflet made a clear distinction between loan sharks, door step lenders, and pay day loan companies. However the ASA ruled that readers could have considered the Money Shop was a door step lender or ‘unlicensed money lender who might use aggressive or threatening tactics in the conduct of its business’. Read more on Inside Housing.