A Genesis Power advertisement targeting Queenstown residents has been deemed misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority.
The authority upheld a complaint by TrustPower that the advertisement was misleading and breached Advertising Codes of Practice.
The advertisement, which appeared in print and online during April and May, read: "Join now Queenstown and save around $290 a year.
With lower electricity rates than TrustPower, we can save you money!"The fine print said the savings were an indicative guide only based on electricity usage of 9000kWh per year, on the Genesis Energy Household Anytime Plan and TrustPower's equivalent plan as listed on the independent powerswitch.co.nz website.
TrustPower lodged a complaint with the authority claiming some of Genesis' listed prices were cheaper, but two summer prices were not.
"After application of TrustPower's higher prompt payment discount, to which the majority of its customers are entitled, six TrustPower prices are cheaper.
This number increases to seven after the application of TrustPower's Friends Extra discount, which the majority of TrustPower customers also receive," the company's complaint said.
"Ultimately, the question of whether a customer finds Genesis to be cheaper than TrustPower depends upon the plan that the customer is on, and the discounts to which the customer is entitled."
TrustPower said the advertisements were not truthful.
Genesis Energy denied any of the advertisements complained of breached the Advertising Codes of Practice.
"Genesis Energy used PowerSwitch, an independent and reliable source of retail electricity prices.
As TrustPower notes in its letter, and PowerSwitch describes on its website, PowerSwitch is a comprehensive and regularly updated database of electricity and gas prices, to enable consumers to compare plans and find the cheapest deal in their area," the company said.
PowerSwitch is run by Consumer New Zealand with support from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
"We consider our advertising is a truthful representation."
Upholding the complaint, the authority found Genesis had not adequately substantiated the claim of savings around $290 for everyone in Queenstown.
It found there was ambiguity in the advertisement on the savings for people switching from TrustPower to Genesis.
"This ambiguity had the effect of suggesting that the savings offered by Genesis may be greater than they actually were.
The advertisements were likely to deceive or mislead consumers," it said. It ruled that the advertisements breached the Code of Ethics.
