Consumer review information found to be misleading in ASA ruling

The ASA investigated claims on the Hotpoint UK Appliances Ltd website that described the company as “The UK’s Most Trusted Appliance Brand”. The claim appeared alongside Trustpilot ratings and review scores, leading complainants, including BSH Home Appliances Ltd, to question whether it was misleading.

Hotpoint said the claim had been developed and approved by Trustpilot and was based on the volume and share of five-star reviews received compared with other leading UK major domestic appliance brands. It argued that this was a more meaningful measure of consumer trust than overall review scores and that supporting information was available through a linked webpage.

The ASA upheld the complaint, finding that consumers were likely to interpret the claim as relating to Hotpoint’s overall Trustpilot performance rather than a specific comparison based on five-star review volumes within a selected group of brands. Because the basis of the comparison and the limitations of the methodology were not made sufficiently clear, the ASA concluded the claim was misleading and breached the CAP Code. The advert was ordered not to appear again in its current form.

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