A con, but does it actually do anything?

[Sureitsoff?]

And one of the "reviews"! says this
"Marc · Glasgow
I just plugged in last month and, boom - I lowered my electric bill right away! That was it, I was sold! I ordered several more for upstairs and my bill dropped even more the next month! Now I’m only paying half what I used to pay! I made sure to buy a bunch for my family and friends before the utility company catches on and you can’t buy them anymore! So worth it! "

As they say in Glasgow " Ay right................."

 

[JohnW2]

In 2021, the then ... government .... introduced an "Online Safety Bill" that did not include scam internet adverts. opposition politicians and consumer groups roundly criticised this omission, and public campaigns were launched. ...

There is clearly a major problem, and those 'criticisers' you mention are obviously well-intentioned in terms of trying to address it, but, perhaps because I'm dim, I've never really understood how UK legislation can really address the issue.

If UK legislation 'outlaws' particular online practices/activities, won't that merely result in the perpetrators hosting their systems in territories in which UK law has no jurisdiction (if they don't already) ?

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnD]

There is clearly a major problem, and those 'criticisers' you mention are obviously well-intentioned in terms of trying to address it, but, perhaps because I'm dim, I've never really understood how UK legislation can really address the issue.

If UK legislation 'outlaws' particular online practices/activities, won't that merely result in the perpetrators hosting their systems in territories in which UK law has no jurisdiction (if they don't already) ?

Kind Regards, John

Facebook (for example) operates in UK and can be fined in UK.

They know all about you from tracking, so they know you live in Ambridge, how old you are, that you keep pigs, painted your cottage pink, and were looking at painbrushes yesterday. They know what model of car you drive and when you buy car insurance. They know which village you drive to every Saturday, and what time you go home. They know which DIY shed you go to, and how often. They know which other punters also go to the same pub as you at the same time on the same day. They know you are unsteady on your feet because you were on a website for arthritic knee supports, and were discussing walking poles on a web forum. They know you were looking at energy-saving gadgets yesterday. So they can target an ad for a lightweight DIY step ladder at you, or a "green" funeral, or organic pigfood, or an energy saving scam.

I wonder if they have the ability to identify a paid-for ad for an energy scam, by a website that was created yesterday, and that claims it is endorsed by Martin Lewis.

I think they do, if they happen to feel like it.

 

[ericmark]

In the early days of computers used to send and receive messages we had to use bulletin boards, and the sysops who ran the boards in the main not for profit, could be taken to court or loose their licence if anyone using their boards did some thing against the rules.

So the sysop would at first hold all your messages until he had viewed them, if nothing wrong was done then he would just check from time to time, but as we moved from radio to phone lines the new sysop or internet providers seemed to get away with no or little checking.

But adverts be they be on internet or TV should clearly be checked for when they make claims, like a Mars a day helps you work rest and play, on Macason looks good, tastes good and by golly it does you good, both had to be modified, yet a Fredy Boswell look alike can show how you can turn the lights on and off by clapping hands once a smart meter is fitted.

This is national TV, if they can get away with that on national TV what real hope is there for an internet advert. So Macason looks good, tastes good and by golly it does you good being changed to Macason looks good, tastes good and is good, seems now a little petty.

 

[RandomGrinch]

...and one more from me....
This lady doesn't look very happy, seeing as she has just saved on her energy bill:

The real photo comes from 2013:
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/a-disabled-widow-has-been-6921/
The lady has just received a bill from BG for £105'000!

 

[opps]

I don't think there are any laws against false advertising on the internet.

I wrote to my MP recently and said there should be.

Remember Martin Lewis sued Facebook because they kept distributing scam adverts making false claims that he endorsed or recommended the crooks?

"Martin issued High Court proceedings for defamation against Facebook after a year in which over 1,000 scam adverts abusing his name or image had appeared on the site. He pledged any proceeds would go to charity.

Online scam adverts, which often use fake celebrity endorsements to get people to part with their cash, have become widespread in recent years, and Facebook admitted in May last year that there were 1,000s of these ads featuring Martin on its site."

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/n...awsuit-as-facebook-agreed-to-donate-p3m-to-a/

In the past I have lodged complaints with the ASA against firms such as Apple and Uber.

In the case of Apple, their UK website said that "Gatekeeper keeps you safe". I explained to the ASA that the (then) recent Flashback (java) drive by hack proved that their claim was false. Apple amended their global text to say that "Gatekeeper keeps you safer".

In the case of Uber, I proved that if you were travelling from one side of London to the other, their prices, journey time AND route were impossible (based on their website estimator). The ASA agreed. They contacted Uber, Uber's response was that they were based in the Netherlands and stuck two fingers up to the ASA. The ASA got back to me and asked it they wanted me to let them refer the case to the Dutch equivalent of the ASA.

The ASA are a national treasure. They have little authority over firms that operate outside of the UK that only offer web based services but in this case, it is a firm selling products to people in the UK.

Pretty much everything on their (ecovolts) website is legally considered to be advertising. Their claims are untrue. The ASA could take action if someone lodges a complaint.

-----edit, I have reported it to the ASA.

I suspect that the ASA will do what they can to quash the site but it looks like the company is in a perpetual state of registering new domains whenever one is taken down.

https://whois.domaintools.com/getecovolts.com

 

[Keithmac]

And one of the "reviews"! says this
"Marc · Glasgow
I just plugged in last month and, boom - I lowered my electric bill right away! That was it, I was sold! I ordered several more for upstairs and my bill dropped even more the next month! Now I’m only paying half what I used to pay! I made sure to buy a bunch for my family and friends before the utility company catches on and you can’t buy them anymore! So worth it! "

As they say in Glasgow " Ay right................."

Anyone who believes that has bigger problems than their electricity bill..

 

[JohnW2]

Facebook (for example) operates in UK and can be fined in UK.

Indeed so, but if a company is at risk of being fined in the UK by virtue of some new UK legislation, then won't they move their 'operation' (at least, 'technically') out of the UK and just continue doing whatever they were doing.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

.... The ASA are a national treasure. They have little authority over firms that operate outside of the UK that only offer web based services but in this case, it is a firm selling products to people in the UK.

It is, but the ASA obviously only has a relevance in terms of advertising. If products were sold in the UK, without any unsupportable claims, then could not a website out of the reach of the ASA effectively do the dodgy 'advertising'?

Kind Regards, John

 

[JBR]

I'd love to know how many people have fallen for this.

 

[JohnW2]

I'd love to know how many people have fallen for this.

Indeed. Sadly, I suspect it's probsbly quite a lot.

I never understand why so many otherwise seemingly fairly sensible and intelligent people don't grasp, and heed, the concept that "If it sounds too good to be true, then ......" !

Kind Regards, John

 

[winston1]

I'd love to know how many people have fallen for this.

I knew someone that did and he swore blind his bills were lower.

 

[opps]

It is, but the ASA obviously only has a relevance in terms of advertising. If products were sold in the UK, without any unsupportable claims, then could not a website out of the reach of the ASA effectively do the dodgy 'advertising'?

Kind Regards, John

That's a good question. I guess that the ASA might argue that the website was a proxy for the company but proving it might be beyond their scope of investigation.

 

[FrodoOne]

In the UK the injunction to "Click your state on the map below to receive free shipping." is "interesting".

 

[Nozzle]

Worst case it's just a box with a LED indicator in it.

Either way it will achieve nothing.

Even worse than that worse case is it's a unfused box with a component connected directly across the mains, therefore a fire hazard waiting to burn your house down. Much like the cheap USB chargers out there.

Nozzle