APTI Plus Academy for Civil Services Private Limited - APTI Plus Academy for Civil Services Pvt.Ltd

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: Suo Motu - NAMS (TAMS)

The ASCI approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the objection raised in the complaint. The advertiser was offered an option to seek Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claim objected to in the advertisement, or alternately to substantiate the claim with the required supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail nor did they submit their written response. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) noted that no response was received from the advertiser prior to the prescribed due date for this complaint. The CCC viewed the print advertisement and observed that the advertiser makes the claim, “Best Civil Services Coaching” basis an award by Odisha Education Award. However, the advertiser did not provide copy of the award certificate as claimed, the basis of the award or the survey methodology followed to obtain this information for the award claimed, such as the details of the process as to how the selection for the award was done, details of the survey data, and the details about the awarding body. In the absence of this data and any response from the advertiser, the CCC concluded that the claim, “Awarded as Best Civil Services Coaching by Odisha Education Award 2019” was not substantiated with supporting ranking data, and is misleading by exaggeration. The print advertisement contravened Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions and Programs, Guidelines for Claiming Awards and Rankings in Advertising, as well as Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD.