F&I Management & Training

It ruled that Sandicliffe misleadingly implied it was approved by an official trade body in the ad.

BBC Watchdog

The ad used background music similar to the BBC Watchdog programme and used the claim:

"Say no to dodgy dealers and save twice with your MPS approved dealers Sandicliffe.

The ASA upheld a complaint from a listener who challenged the claim ‘MPS approved dealers' because he said it implied the dealer was approved by an official body.

Sandicliffe said MPS stood for Midlands Price Squad which, it said, was a "tongue-in-cheek creation", intended to help draw people's attention to what to expect when purchasing a used car from a dealer during the credit crunch.

Educating customers

It said it wanted to emphasise to customers that price was not the only consideration; quality of service was also important and they should be aware of "corner-cutting" by other less scrupulous dealers.

It was in this context that they created the fictitious body, 'MPS', which included a website and checklist for buyers.

Sandicliffe said it did not intend to undermine the work of Trading Standards or other regulatory bodies and actually sought to support it.

But the ASA said that at no point did Sandicliffe explain that MPS was a ficticious body and ruled against it in its current form.

DATED: 25.06.09

FEED: MT