Jubilant Foodworks Limited - Domino's

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: General Public

The ASCI had approached the advertiser for its response in addressing the grievances of the complainant and forwarded the details of the complaint, verbatim, to the advertiser with a request to respond to the same. The advertiser was offered an option to seek an Informal Resolution (IR) of the complaint by modifying or withdrawing the claim in the advertisement or alternately to substantiate the claim with supporting data. The advertiser was also offered an opportunity for a telecon with the ASCI Secretariat, which they did not avail and replied that, “We are investigating this case and corrective actions will be taken to ensure there are no lapses if we find an issue”. However there was no further response from the advertiser. The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) viewed the advertisement - promotional offer and considered the complaint. The CCC observed that the advertiser did not resolve the concerns raised by the complainant. The CCC further observed that the advertiser is promoting an offer of `Domino's 4 Course Meal @ Rs. 99/-’ which is “available 11 AM–3 PM”. The CCC discussed that if a promotion has a specific time limitation, it is reasonable for the consumer to expect that the offer is available during that time. The offer only outlines a cut-off time of 3:00 PM but does not clarify whether it is dependent on the availability of the stock or if any other conditions apply. Based on these observations, the CCC concluded that the claim offer, `Domino's 4 Course Meal @ Rs. 99/-’ which is “available 11 AM–3 PM”, is misleading and is likely to lead to widespread disappointment in the minds of consumers. The said claim in the advertisement contravened Chapter I, Clauses 1.4 and 1.5 of the ASCI Code. This complaint was UPHELD.