{"id":12782,"date":"2022-08-06T20:22:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-06T20:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=12782"},"modified":"2024-02-17T14:12:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T14:12:08","slug":"advertisements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/","title":{"rendered":"Advertisements"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#General_Advertising_Rules\" title=\"General Advertising Rules\">General Advertising Rules<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Benefits_Claimed\" title=\"Benefits Claimed\">Benefits Claimed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Comparisons\" title=\"Comparisons\">Comparisons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Loan_Warnings\" title=\"Loan Warnings\">Loan Warnings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Savings\" title=\"Savings\">Savings<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Investment_Products\" title=\"Investment Products\">Investment Products<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Performance\" title=\"Performance\">Performance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Guarantees_Taxation\" title=\"Guarantees &amp; Taxation\">Guarantees &amp; Taxation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Fluctuations_Realisation\" title=\"Fluctuations &amp; Realisation\">Fluctuations &amp; Realisation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/advertisements\/#Frontloading_Tracker_Bond_Issues\" title=\"Frontloading &amp; Tracker Bond Issues\">Frontloading &amp; Tracker Bond Issues<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"General_Advertising_Rules\"><\/span>General Advertising Rules<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The following rules apply to advertisements by regulated financial service providers other than those specifically regulated by the European Union Consumer Credit Act Regulations 2010.An advertisement is any commercial communication in respect of a regulated entity addressed to the consumer public or a section of it, the purpose of which is to advertise a regulated activity or regulated entity.\u00a0 It does not apply to sponsorship material and a prospectus drawn up in compliance with its prospectus directive.<\/p>\n<p>A regulatory disclosure statement confirming who regulates the financial service provider must be included in all advertisements.\u00a0 This would usually be the Central Bank of Ireland or, if established in a foreign country but providing services in Ireland, the home state.\u00a0 In this latter case, it must also confirm that it is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland for the conduct of business rules.<\/p>\n<p>The design, presentation and content of an advertisement must be clear, fair, accurate and not misleading.\u00a0 It must not seek to influence consumers&#8217; attitudes to the product or service or the service provider by any ambiguity, exaggeration or omission.\u00a0 The nature and type of the product or service concerned must be clear and must not be disguised in any way.<\/p>\n<p>Without limiting the above general obligations, the advertisement must not be misleading in relation to the service provider&#8217;s independence or the independence of the information that provides, its ability to provide the product concerned, the scale of its activities, the extent of its resources, the nature of its involvement in the product or service, discuss the product or service, the past performance or possible future performance of the service or product.<\/p>\n<p>The financial service entity must clearly show its name in all advertisements.\u00a0 It must be readily apparent that the advertisement is an advertisement.<\/p>\n<p>Regulated entities must ensure the key information in relation to the service is permanent and is not obscured or disguised by the content, design or form.\u00a0 Small print or footnotes must only be used to supplement or elaborate key information and must be legible.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying criteria in relation to obtaining maximum savings or minimum price must be included in the body of the advertisement.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Benefits_Claimed\"><\/span>Benefits Claimed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The advertisements set out below must meet certain criteria and have notices which appear simultaneously with the benefits as advertised.\u00a0 In the case of non-print advertisements, they may be contained at the end of the advertisement.<\/p>\n<p>It is not necessary to include warnings if the advertisement does not refer to the benefits of the product but only names of products or services and invites the consumer to discuss the product or service in more detail.\u00a0 If promotional or introductory interest rates are used, the expiry date must be specified and an indication of the rate applying thereafter must be given. Any assumptions made in the statement, promise or forecast in an advertisement must be clearly stated, reasonable and up-to-date.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement that promotes one or more products must clearly set out key information in relation to each product in a way that the consumer can distinguish between them.\u00a0 Any recommendations or commendations must be complete, fair and accurate.\u00a0 Recommendations and commendations require the consent of the author.\u00a0 If a recommendation is received from an employee, or if a person has received payment or the recommendation this must be stated in the advertisement.<\/p>\n<p>If an intermediary is tied to a single provider for a particular product or service, this must be disclosed in all advertisements by that intermediary for their product or service.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Comparisons\"><\/span>Comparisons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Comparisons or contrasts must be based on facts provided by the regulated service provider on reasonable assumptions which are stated in the advertisements. \u00a0They should be presented in a clear, fair, and balanced way and not omit anything material to the comparison or contrast.<\/p>\n<p>Material differences between the products must be set out clearly.\u00a0 Where acronyms are used it must be stated what letters stand for. \u00a0A product may only be described as free where it is available free of charge to the consumer.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Loan_Warnings\"><\/span>Loan Warnings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The following applies to advertisements for personal consumers.<\/p>\n<p>Certain warnings are required, which must appear in a boxed form and heavy type. An advertisement in relation to a residential mortgage must contain a statement regarding the risk that the home may be lost if payments are not kept up.\u00a0 An advertisement which includes an APR must clearly state if the rate is fixed or variable.<\/p>\n<p>If an advertisement is for a term loan and displays the annual percentage rate and term, it must also show the total cost of credit by means of an example.\u00a0 This does not apply to the provision of mortgage credit.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement for a fixed-rate loan must contain a warning that charges may apply if the fixed-rate loan is paid off early.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement for personal lending must contain a warning that if repayments are not made, the account will go into arrears and this may affect future credit rating and the ability to access credit in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Where credit is offered for the consolidation of debts, which shows sample figures, it must indicate the difference between the total cost of credit of the consolidated facilities and the total cost of the individual credit facilities that are consolidated.\u00a0 A debt consolidation mortgage must specify that the loan may take longer to pay than the previous term loans and that more] may ultimately have to be paid than if paid over a shorter term.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement for a variable-rate mortgage must specify that monthly payments may increase.\u00a0 An advertisement for an interest-only mortgage must state that the entire balance will still be payable at the end of the interest-only period.\u00a0 An advertisement for a lifetime mortgage must state that interest will be compounded and payable in full in circumstances such as death, sale of property, et cetera.\u00a0 It must state that the product may negatively impact on the ability to meet future funding needs.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement in relation to a home reversion scheme must state that the money received may be less than the actual market share value of the share of the home, and the purchasing product may negatively impact the ability to meet future funding needs.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Savings\"><\/span>Savings<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where an interest rate for a savings or deposit account is displayed in an advertisement, it must clearly state<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>whether fixed or variable<\/li>\n<li>if fixed, for what period and an indication of the rate applicable thereafter<\/li>\n<li>the relevant interest rate for each time quoted together with annual equivalent rate; each rate to be of equal size and prominence<\/li>\n<li>minimum term or minimum amount required to qualify for the rate<\/li>\n<li>if applicable, any tax payable on the interest earned<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The annual equivalent rate contained in the advertisement must not be misleading.\u00a0 Assumptions used in the calculation of the annual equivalent rate must be reasonable, up-to-date, and clearly stated.\u00a0 A record of the manner of calculation must be maintained.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Investment_Products\"><\/span>Investment Products<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where a product involves a risk that 100 per cent of the initial capital may not be repaid, a warning must be provided stating that some or all of the money invested may be lost.<\/p>\n<p>Where a promised return of capital only applies on a specific date, there must be a warning to the effect that encashment before the particular date may cause the loss of some or all of the money invested.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement for a product for which there is no access to funds for the term of the product must contain a warning to this effect.<\/p>\n<p>Where a regulated provider gives information about the past performance of an advertised product or service or of the regulated entity, the information must be based on<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a product similar to that being advertised<\/li>\n<li>must not be selected so as to exaggerate the success or disguise the lack of success of the product or service<\/li>\n<li>state the source of information<\/li>\n<li>be based on actual performance<\/li>\n<li>state the period chosen, which must relate to the term of the product being advertised<\/li>\n<li>include the most recent period<\/li>\n<li>indicate details of transaction costs, interest and taxation that have been taken into account where applicable<\/li>\n<li>state the basis on which he performance is quoted if applicable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Advertisements which contain information about past performance must contain a statement that past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance<\/p>\n<p>Where a regulated entity has an interest or holding in a particular product that it advertises, this must be stated in the advertisement.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Performance\"><\/span>Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where information is given in an advertisement about the simulated performance of a product or service of the particular financial service provider, this must be based on simulated performance that is relevant to the performance of the product or service or the entity concerned;<\/p>\n<p>It must not be selected so as to exaggerate the success or disguise the lack of success of the product or entity itself. It must state the source and indicate whether and to what extent transaction cost interest and taxation have been taken into account.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement which contains information about simulated performance, must contain a statement that the figures are estimates and are not a reliable guide to the future performance of the investment.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Guarantees_Taxation\"><\/span>Guarantees &amp; Taxation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>An account must not be described as guaranteed in an advertisement or potentially guaranteed unless there is a legally enforceable payment obligation by a third party who undertakes to meet the claim under the guarantee, the provider has assessed the value of the guarantee, takes account of the limited nature and extent the limitations of the guarantee, if the guarantor is connected, that this is the case that this is stated.<\/p>\n<p>Where an advertisement refers to the impact of taxation, it must state the assumed rate of taxation and, where applicable that the tax rates and reliefs actually applying are \u00a0those currently applying to that \u00a0particular to the consumer or provider as appropriate<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>states that the matters referred to are only relevant to a particular class of consumer with particular tax liabilities identifying the types of consumer and liabilities<\/li>\n<li>state who has responsibility for obtaining the tax benefit advertised<\/li>\n<li>not describe the product or service as being free from liability to tax unless equal prominence is given to a statement that the income is payable for products for which tax has already been paid<\/li>\n<li>not describe the product and service as being free from liability to capital taxation unless equal prominence is given to a statement where applicable if the value of the product is linked to a product which is liable to capital taxation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fluctuations_Realisation\"><\/span>Fluctuations &amp; Realisation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Any product or service which can fluctuate in price must contain a warning to the effect that the investment may go up as well as down.<\/p>\n<p>Where a product is described as being likely to yield income or as suitable to a consumer who is seeking income, here the income may fluctuate; this must be specified by warning.<\/p>\n<p>Where the product offers a facility to withdraw capital as an income equivalent, the effect of the withdrawal on such product must be explained.<\/p>\n<p>Where a product or service is denominated in foreign currency, or where its value may be affected by foreign exchange rate changes, the advertisement must contain a warning to this effect.<\/p>\n<p>An advertisement for a product which is not readily realisable must state that it may be difficult for consumers to realise or value the product.\u00a0 Where the product cannot be encashed before its maturity or incurs an early redemption charge this must be clearly stated.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frontloading_Tracker_Bond_Issues\"><\/span>Frontloading &amp; Tracker Bond Issues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Where a product is subject to frontloading it must state that the deductions for charges and expenses are not made uniformly to the life of the product that are loaded onto an early period that if the consumer withdraws from the product in the early period, the practice of frontloading will impact on the amount of money which the consumer receives and that the consumer may not get the full amount back invested.<\/p>\n<p>Where an interest rate is applicable to a proportion of a tracker bond is placed on deposits, the advertisement must also clearly indicate whether the rate is variable or fixed and, if fixed for what period, the relevant compound annual rate over the full term of the tracker bond applicable to the part put on deposits and whether tax is payable on the interest earned.\u00a0 Each rate provided to a consumer must be of equal font size and prominence.<\/p>\n<p>Where a projected return on investment or a tracker bond is advertised it must ensure that the value of the projected rate is expressed and is shown as prominently as the equivalent compound annual rate.\u00a0 Where the projected rate of return for a tracker bond is advertised, and the parts of the bond are invested separately, the value of the return on the amount invested in each of the component parts over the full term must be expressed and shown as prominently as the equivalent compound annual rate.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-12782\" data-postid=\"12782\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-12782 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General Advertising Rules The following rules apply to advertisements by regulated financial service providers other than those specifically regulated by the European Union Consumer Credit Act Regulations 2010.An advertisement is any commercial communication in respect of a regulated entity addressed to the consumer public or a section of it, the purpose of which is to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12782"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31934,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12782\/revisions\/31934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}