Foodpanda warned for misleading Pandapro ad
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore has issued a warning to food delivery platform Delivery Hero (Singapore) – known by its lead brand Foodpanda – for the misleading advertisement for its Pandapro subscription service.
The Pandapro ad promoted “unlimited free delivery on all restaurants” for the subscription service which ran from July 1 July to Sept 30.
This was displayed across multiple platforms including Foodpanda’s Instagram page, its in-app marketing, billboards and signages at public areas such as bus stops.
CCCS in August commenced an investigation following a complaint on the ad.
Without any qualifiers, it could mislead consumers into thinking that Pandapro subscribers would enjoy free delivery on all the restaurants available on Foodpanda.
But Pandapro subscribers would receive only a $3 discount for all restaurants or a discount of up to $6 for selected restaurants.
Contrary to the advertised “free delivery on all restaurants”, CCCS found that over 40 per cent of food delivery transactions made by Pandapro subscribers on all restaurants during the promotional period required a residual delivery fee to be paid after the discounts were applied.
Following the investigation, Foodpanda has acknowledged CCCS’s concern and agreed to provide a full refund of subscription fees to customers who subscribed to Pandapro from July 1 July to Sept 30.
It will also clarify the terms to subscribers and review its existing and future marketing materials for Pandapro subscription to ensure compliance with Singapore’s fair trading laws.
CCCS stresses that businesses must ensure that any representation about the price of a good or service as being “$0” or “free” is not false or misleading.
Any explicit representation must clearly reflect what is offered to consumers, or else any qualifier, exclusion and incidental cost must be stated prominently together with the “$0” or “free” claim – a generic disclaimer such as “terms and conditions apply” is not usually sufficient.
“When a business offers 'free' services to entice the consumer, it is not unreasonable for an average consumer to understand 'free' to mean that nothing will be charged. Transparent pricing is crucial for consumers to make informed purchases and to allow all businesses to compete fairly,” said CCCS chief executive Alvin Koh.
Members of the public who encounter unfair trade practices in relation to advertisements may contact the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore to have them reviewed. For more information, go to asas.org.sg/feedback/online-complaint or call 6461 1888.
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