Sanral rebuked for misleading the public
Sanral has been told to remove an advert suggesting motorists are able to receive e-toll discounts when they have not been implemented yet.
JOHANNESBURG – The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has ruled that a radio advert issued by Sanral is misleading to consumers and has ordered Sanral to remove the advert with immediate effect.
Sanral’s advert reads “Government has listened to you and responded by giving you a new e-toll dispensation. Among other things, we’ve reduced the rate to 30c per kilometre for light motor vehicles and slashed the monthly cap by 50 percent.
“If you have outstanding e-toll fees dating back to December 2013, you will receive a 60 percent discount and six months to pay. We thank all who have paid their dues. You have helped in moving South Africa forward”.
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The ASA indicated that the language used in this advert implied that the new dispensation tariffs had already been implemented and that citizens could receive the relevant discounts immediately. The dispensation proposals are, however, still to be implemented and have not come into effect yet.
A consumer lodged a complaint against the Sanral radio advert in June, claiming that the commercial was disingenuous because it suggested that the new dispensation and associated discounts were currently available to motorists. In reality the discounts are not yet active and consumers would be paying more than they believed they would be liable for.
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In a statement released on Monday, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) accused Sanral of wasting tax-payers’s money “by spending millions of rands on an ineffective marketing campaign to seduce the public into accepting an irrational and unjust scheme”.
Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona declined to comment saying the ASA had not sent Sanral the ruling.
