News 2002
Virgin Mobile puts the squeeze on Orange
15/05/2002
Britain’s 5th network welcomes ASA ruling over Orange’s sour ad claims
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, the UK’s fifth network, is delighted at the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) ruling in its favour, for a second time since October 2001, upholding a complaint about a misleading advertisement published by rival network Orange.
Orange has been criticised by the ASA for misleading the public, and has been barred from suggesting its Orange Value Promise (OVP) tariff is similar to Virgin Mobile’s tariff. This follows an ASA ruling last October ticking off Orange for saying its OVP tariff was ‘equivalent’ to that offered by Virgin Mobile.
The ASA’s decision was based primarily on the £10 connection charge Orange charged to all OVP customers. Orange omitted to state that only customers bringing their own handset were charged this amount by Virgin Mobile. Accordingly the ASA told Orange not to describe their tariff as “similar” to Virgin Mobile’s and adjudicated as misleading Orange’s claim that customers could bring their Virgin Mobile tariff onto the Orange network. It has also been told to stop claiming that Virgin Mobile phones are expensive because the company does not subsidise the cost of its handsets.
Virgin Mobile has one great value tariff, with no line rental, no monthly charges, no hidden costs, and allows its customers to pay monthly or pre-pay.
“It looks like Orange got pulped again!” said Virgin Mobile’s Sir Richard Branson. “Orange is obviously sour about the fact that Virgin Mobile’s offerings are so much better for the consumer than theirs. But its attempts to half-heartedly copy us and then erroneously claim that it can offer the same great value have rightfully fallen foul of the ASA. Its implications about our charges were both unfair and untrue and we are delighted the ASA has prevented Orange from continuing to mislead the public.”
