Here’s an interesting article from long-time consumer advocate Carolyn Bond about some advertising tactics some financial services providers are employing.
From the article:
The idea is simple. A big claim – often misleading -– claiming you can cut many years off your mortgage, qualify for a government program, get more from your superannuation or qualify for a debt reduction program. You may need to “apply before” a certain date so you “don’t miss out”.
If you click for “more information” or “apply now”, you are asked to provide personal information and contact details in order to receive information or find out if you “qualify”. Even then, you are unlikely to find out anything about the claims in the ad, but you are told that someone will contact you.
There’s no question, it can be difficult to navigate the territory between a legitimate ad or request and something dodgy. For example, you may offer some details for a cause you support, or you might sign up to mailing list for a particular topic interest area. However, normally bold ‘too good to be true’ claims are a big warning sign. The sensitive nature of financial services and the potential impact means this particular area should be treated with additional caution.
Carolyn also suggests:
Any advertisement for a financial service should include the name or licence number of the business/es that may be providing the service and this should be in a direct link from the advertisement.
If you spot anything like this, take a screen grab and leave a comment below.
