ASA uphold complaints against RBS and Natwest adverts
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have upheld complaints regarding adverts from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Natwest that claimed they would be ‘the last bank in town.’
RBS is 83% owned by the public following its collapse in 2008. It in turn owns Natwest.
The adverts for the two banks were deemed to have misled people into believing that should all other banks close in their area, an RBS or Natwest branch would remain open.
A closure of a Natwest bank in Farsley near Leeds in West Yorkshire was highlighted as a case where they had broken their advertising promise. Viewers of the advert had complained that the Natwest branch in Farsley had recently closed, despite being the last bank in the area.
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The bank pointed out that Farsley is a suburb of Pudsey, where an alternative Natwest branch remained open. They indicated that their criteria for the last branch in town included branches within a 1.5 mile radius of the bank they were to close.
However, the ASA indicated that the advert suggested that ‘the last branch in town’ meant the immediate vicinity and upheld the complaint.
A similar complaint in Bettyhill, in Scotland was also upheld where the branch had been closed and replaced with a mobile banking service. Again, the ASA upheld the complaint, indicating that the advert had implied that a ‘bricks and mortar’ branch would remain open.
After upholding the complaints, the ASA indicated that the misleading adverts should not be shown again in their current form.
A spokesperson from RBS indicated that they disagreed with the ASA decision. They defended the closure of the Farsley branch, arguing that they hadn’t promised to keep all branches open and pointed out that previously, the Bettyhill branch was just ‘two desks in a community centre.’
However, the spokesperson added: “While we disagree with the ASA’s decision, we welcome their offer to work more closely with them in future.”
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