Mortgage broker Mortgage Choice Limited, has recently received 3
infringement notices from ASIC for false advertising and has paid
$30,600 in penalties.
Mortgage Choice online and television advertising stated that
Mortgage Choice had refinanced numerous home loans and on average
saved customers '$10,000 over 5 years'. ASIC found that
these savings were in fact projections on the savings of 300
customers over a 6 month period, and that no customer had actually
achieved the savings of $10,000 over 5 years.
ASIC's decision was that these projections were misleading
for the consumer. This decision serves as a timely reminder of the
care required when making claims about savings (or financial
performance generally) based on hypothetical calculations. ASIC has
stressed that claims about savings that a consumer might make need
to be accurate and supported by evidence. ASIC RG 53 (The use of
Past Performance in Promotional Material) sets out a number of
considerations
