Nedbank ordered to withdraw billboard

The watchdog ruled that the advert is misleading after a consumer laid a complaint against Nedbank and the bank was unable to send any documentation to illustrate that its banking charges had been reduced.

“The bank also failed to state on which types of accounts it would offer the ‘reduced' fees, so the consumer would have reason to assume that this applies to all other banking products or accounts offered by Nedbank,” says Lillian Mlambo, communications manager for the ASA.

“Advertisers cannot rely on a disclaimer to clear up any confusion already created in the advertising. In this advert, Nedbank relies in the words ‘terms and conditions apply' to indicate that there is a condition in the message communicated. The ASA found that the disclaimer appeared in a very small font compared to the general claim and consumers would hardly notice it,” adds Mlambo.