I am very very pleased to say that Lord Smith, as Chair of the ASA, responded remarkably quickly to an email I sent raising concerns with their policy. Previously, in ‘informally resolved’ complaints, the ASA has asked complainants to treat the judgement in confidence. I was unhappy; this seems to protect the company, not the customer. So I am delighted that this policy is now stopped. Letters to complainants from the ASA regarding informally resolved complaints will no longer ask them to keep the contents ‘confidential’.
Very pleased indeed.
This is excellent news. I really cannot understand how anybody can justify requiring (I wasn’t asked) complainants to maintain secrecy about matetrs which are evidently of public interest. If they weren’t of public interest, ASA would have no reason to exist, after all!
A huge relief, and I hope the authorisation is retrospective.
A victory for common sense and protection on consumers. Great work!
Good news but the ASA has no power other than to refer to a Trading Standards so how useful is it? The ASA upheld nearly 40 cases against Groupon but nothing has changed.
“In fact it is also important for settled cases to be made known to public as the settlement fee is a measure of guilt.”
Wow! everybody will go to court then!!! More money for lawyers.
The ASA asking somebody to do something does not mean anything. A few years ago I made a complaint about an advert by GSK and blogged about it. What can they do about it?Nothing. They cant even do anything about misleading advertising except write a letter.
I don’t think this is ‘the answer’ but it does mean that complainants are no longer actively discouraged from expressing the issues that led to advert changes….