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Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Two heat pump adverts banned for ‘misleading' customers over £7,500 grant
Two 'misleading' heat pump adverts which suggested anybody could qualify for a £7,500 Government grant have been banned by the advertising watchdog. EDF Energy and home heating supplier, Aira, were each ordered to take down separate adverts which neglected to highlight eligibility criteria for a government grant of up to £7,500 to fit a heat pump. It comes a week after the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ordered Octopus Energy to remove an advert claiming it could install heat pumps for as little as £500, which was also judged to be misleading. The Government's drive to reach net zero has involved pushing households to switch from gas boilers to heat pumps, even after Labour quietly ditched the Conservatives' target to have 600,000 fitted each year. The Google ad for EDF stated: 'Get A £7,500 Grant – EDF Air Source Heat Pumps'. Aira's advert, on Meta platforms, stated: 'Ditch your gas boiler for an Aira heat pump today [...] £7,500 grant available'. The watchdog said that both adverts 'gave the impression consumers would be automatically eligible to receive a government grant of £7,500, and it did not make clear the government funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility'. It added: 'We considered that was material information that should have been included. Because the ad omitted material information, we concluded it was likely to mislead.' EDF Energy told the watchdog that its ad linked through to one of three landing pages on its website which contained all relevant information about the eligibility criteria for government heat pump funding. Aira said its ad was only targeted at homeowners in England and Scotland, where £7,500 grants were available, adding that it did not believe a consumer would interpret the ad as meaning that the grants were given automatically. Octopus Energy's online advert boasted that households could heat their homes without gas by switching to a heat pump 'from as little as £500'. But the ASA said the advert 'was likely to mislead' because it omitted 'material information' and did not provide enough evidence that a typical consumer could have a heat pump installed by the company for £500. Octopus Energy denied that the advert was misleading, and claimed to have used a predictive model based on energy performance certificates to underpin the claim made in the advert. The Government's flagship Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers up to £7,500 to homeowners looking to install a ground or air source heat pump. However, official figures show that just 44,000 households used the scheme to install a heat pump last year. Octopus Energy has played a key role in this heat pump push. The company, led by chief executive Greg Jackson, sells its own brand of heat pumps and runs a research and development facility in Slough to make them cheaper and easier to install. Mike Foster, of the EUA trade body, said: 'With any new technology, or a technology that people aren't familiar with such as a heat pump, it's essential that those wishing to sell these products into people's homes are absolutely transparent with the costs and the benefits. 'Exaggerating the benefits or minimising the costs in any advert just brings the whole of the low-carbon industry into disrepute.' An EDF Energy spokesman said: 'Neither the ASA or ourselves received any complaints about the advert, however, we accept their ruling as we are fully aligned to their objective of improving the clarity of customer communications. 'We have already updated our marketing accordingly and would have done so if requested as we take a collaborative approach. We have encouraged the ASA to reach out informally should they have any concerns in the future.' Chris Collinson, chief executive of Aira UK, said: 'We are committed to providing complete transparency around the eligibility criteria and material information surrounding the availability of government grants for heat pumps in the UK, and to compliance with industry codes of conduct. 'Aira has taken immediate steps to address the points raised in ASA's ruling, ensuring that all advertising material clearly and consistently outlines the eligibility criteria required to apply for grants. 'Aira is committed to clear, transparent communication with our customers. Our intention has always been to raise awareness of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help as many households as possible benefit from it.'
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
UK watchdog bans heat pump adverts over funding small print
The UK 's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned heat pump advertisements from Aira and EDF Energy. The ads were found to be misleading as they failed to include crucial information regarding the eligibility criteria for government funding. Both Aira's Meta ad and EDF Energy's Google ad prominently mentioned a £7,500 grant without making it clear that the funding was subject to conditions. The ASA concluded that the omission of this material information was likely to mislead consumers, implying automatic eligibility for the grant. This decision follows a similar ban last week on an Octopus Energy ad, with the ASA now requiring all future heat pump ads to clearly state grant eligibility and any included government funding.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Two more ads banned over ‘misleading' government funding claim
The UK's advertising watchdog has banned two more heat pump ads for misleading consumers about installation costs. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that ads from home heating supplier Aira and EDF Energy both failed to include information regarding the eligibility criteria for government funding available for installing the pumps. It comes a week after the ASA banned an ad from Octopus Energy for misleading consumers by claiming heat pumps could be installed for as little as £500. The Meta ad for Aira, seen in March, said: 'Ditch your gas boiler for an Aira heat pump today … £7,500 grant available.' Aira said the ad was only targeted at homeowners living in England and Scotland, where £7,500 Government grants were available to replace their gas boiler with a heat pump. The firm said it did not believe that a consumer would interpret the ad to mean the grants were given automatically and without conditions. It added that social media ads did not allow for extensive clarification and claimed that consumers would be confused by phrasing such as 'eligibility criteria apply'. They said that, in practice, nearly all of their customers who replaced a gas boiler in their own home with a heat pump were eligible for a £7,500 grant. However, the ASA said the ad gave the impression that consumers would be automatically eligible to receive a government grant of £7,500, and it did not make clear that the funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility. EDF's Google ad in February said: 'Get A £7,500 Grant – EDF Air Source Heat Pumps.' EDF said the ad linked through to one of three pages, where all relevant information about the government funding's eligibility criteria was made clear. Again, the ASA said the ad did not make clear that government funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility. The ASA said of both ads: 'We considered that it was material information that should have been included. Because the ad omitted material information, we concluded it was likely to mislead.' Last week, the ASA told Octopus to ensure that ads making price claims for heat pump installation included all material information, including clarification of any Government grant included in the advertised price and the existence of eligibility criteria.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Two ‘misleading' heat pump adverts banned by UK watchdog
Two more 'misleading' adverts promoting heat pumps have been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog. A week after the Advertising Standards Authority banned an Octopus Energy ad that claimed consumers could have a heat pump installed for as little as £500, it has taken action against adverts from the home heating supplier Aira and from EDF Energy. The ASA found that the two ads, which appeared online, omitted key information about the eligibility criteria for government funding available for installing the pumps. The government's boiler upgrade scheme for England and Wales provides grants of £7,500 to householders who switch from gas boilers to heat pumps. A similar programme, the Home Energy Scotland grant and loan scheme, runs in Scotland. The UK government has a target of 600,000 heat pump installations annually by 2028, but there have been claims that the current take-up is too low. The Resolution Foundation thinktank said in April that 'the rollout of heat pumps is slow, with fewer than 100,000 fitted into British homes in 2024'. An ad on a Meta platform for Aira, seen in March, said: 'Ditch your gas boiler for an Aira heat pump today … £7,500 grant available.' EDF's Google advert in February said: 'Get a £7,500 grant – EDF air source heat pumps.' The ads were identified for investigation by an ASA system that uses artificial intelligence to check ads in specific sectors. The watchdog said of both promotions that 'the ad gave the impression consumers would be automatically eligible to receive a government grant of £7,500, and it did not make clear the government funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility'. It added: 'We considered that was material information that should have been included. Because the ad omitted material information, we concluded it was likely to mislead.' The ASA said there were a number of eligibility criteria that consumers needed to satisfy in order to qualify for funding for a heat pump, and that these differed between the two official schemes. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Aira told the ASA that the ad was targeted only at homeowners in England and Scotland, where £7,500 grants were available. The company said it did not believe a consumer would interpret the ad as meaning that the grants were given automatically and without conditions. EDF told the watchdog that its ad linked through to one of three pages, where all relevant information about the government funding's eligibility criteria was made clear. It argued that consumers would understand that by clicking on the ad they would land on a page that would explain what they needed to do to get a £7,500 grant. In response to the ban, Chris Collinson, Aira's UK chief executive, said: 'We are committed to providing complete transparency around the eligibility criteria and material information surrounding the availability of government grants for heat pumps in the UK, and to compliance with industry codes of conduct. Aira has taken immediate steps to address the points raised in ASA's ruling.' EDF said that 'neither the ASA [n]or ourselves received any complaints about the advert; however, we accept their ruling as we are fully aligned to their objective of improving the clarity of customer communications'. The spokesperson said it had already updated its marketing information, 'and would have done so if requested, as we take a collaborative approach. We have encouraged the ASA to reach out informally should they have any concerns in the future.'
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Two more ads banned over ‘misleading' government funding claim
The UK's advertising watchdog has banned two more heat pump ads for misleading consumers about installation costs. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that ads from home heating supplier Aira and EDF Energy both failed to include information regarding the eligibility criteria for government funding available for installing the pumps. It comes a week after the ASA banned an ad from Octopus Energy for misleading consumers by claiming heat pumps could be installed for as little as £500. The Meta ad for Aira, seen in March, said: 'Ditch your gas boiler for an Aira heat pump today … £7,500 grant available.' Aira said the ad was only targeted at homeowners living in England and Scotland, where £7,500 Government grants were available to replace their gas boiler with a heat pump. The firm said it did not believe that a consumer would interpret the ad to mean the grants were given automatically and without conditions. It added that social media ads did not allow for extensive clarification and claimed that consumers would be confused by phrasing such as 'eligibility criteria apply'. They said that, in practice, nearly all of their customers who replaced a gas boiler in their own home with a heat pump were eligible for a £7,500 grant. However, the ASA said the ad gave the impression that consumers would be automatically eligible to receive a government grant of £7,500, and it did not make clear that the funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility. EDF's Google ad in February said: 'Get A £7,500 Grant – EDF Air Source Heat Pumps.' EDF said the ad linked through to one of three pages, where all relevant information about the government funding's eligibility criteria was made clear. Again, the ASA said the ad did not make clear that government funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility. The ASA said of both ads: 'We considered that it was material information that should have been included. Because the ad omitted material information, we concluded it was likely to mislead.' Last week, the ASA told Octopus to ensure that ads making price claims for heat pump installation included all material information, including clarification of any Government grant included in the advertised price and the existence of eligibility criteria.
