False advertising

How can they say they are the cheapest when they're not?

[DannySmith]

It annoys me when domain name registration companies use advertising like "Lowest price in the UK" when they are selling domains at prices which are way higher than other firms.

How are they allowed to get away with this? And is there anything we can do stop it?

I'm talking about the really big players here, not some tinpot back-bedroom registration firms.

[Livenomadic]

I wonder similar things too:

"Internet's Best Selling Webware"

[4crests]

they are often not EXACTLY alike, so they can SOMETIMES make the claim that they are the cheapest (for what they offer). Just a thought!

Personally, I don't read that fluff, and I think many consumers are beginning to ignore those types of claims.

[rogerd]

In the US at least, advertisers are able to get away with "puffery", i.e., inflated statements that are hard to pin down. "The friendliest customer service" and "the best deals" would probably be no problem.

The more specific a claim, the more likely it is that an advertiser can get called to prove it. Deliberate misrepresentation would result in at least a settlement to stop making the claim and to make no similar claim in the future without adequate proof, or occasionally stiffer penalties. "The lowest domain registration price in the nation" is fairly specific. Of course, firms can still weasel around this issue if under some circumstances (e.g., you register a thousand domains) it is true. Such details should properly be noted in the ad.

[encyclo]

DannySmith, for your particular example about the cheapest domains, that is a very specific claim which, unlike saying you're the "best" or "most popular", needs to have some factual basis.

If you are in the UK, you should contact the Advertising Standards Bureau if you think a company is making false or misleading claims.

[robho]

I had one of these today as well:

" at just £8.89 +VAT, (name deleted) is still the lowest priced supplier of com, .net and .org domains"

Not even close to a valid claim. That's 2.5 times the price I pay, and I expect there are cheaper deals.