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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that two adverts from Centrica Group businesses British Gas and Hive should be banned.
A paid-for Meta ad for British Gas, seen in May 2025, included an image of a person standing next to a heat pump and superimposed text stated, “Go greener and lower your bills. Save up to £546 with a heat pump and our exclusive tariff”. Text beneath that stated, “Switch to a heat pump and start saving With British Gas”. The caption stated, “Upgrade to a low-carbon heat pump and you could save up to £546. Savings based on year 1. T&Cs apply”.
The ASA challenged whether the:
- claim “Save up to £546” was misleading and could be substantiated; and
- ad omitted material information.
The ASA upheld the decision after an appeal by British Gas. In its response, it said as the savings claim was based on specific circumstances, which were undisclosed in the ad, and the evidence provided, assessed in regard to how the average consumer was likely to interpret the ad, did not demonstrate that a saving of £546 on their energy bill could be achieved by a significant proportion of consumers in their first year after installing a heat pump. As such the advert breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.9 (Qualification), 3.17, 3.22 (Prices) and 3.38 (Price comparisons).
In addition, a national press ad, seen in May 2025, for Hive featured an image of a building in a field with solar panels on its roof. The headline stated “Today’s sunshine. Tomorrow’s savings”. Text beneath stated “Shrink your electricity bills by up to 94% in your first year with solar – search solar with Hive” and “T&Cs apply. Savings based on year one”.
The ASA challenged whether the:
- claim “Shrink your electricity bills by up to 94% in your first year with solar” was misleading and could be substantiated; and
- ad omitted material information.
The ASA again upheld its decision after an appeal by Hive. In its response, the ASA said as the savings claim was based on specific circumstances, which were undisclosed in the ad, and the evidence provided, assessed in regard to how the average consumer was likely to interpret the ad, did not demonstrate that a saving of “up to 94%” on their electricity bill could be achieved by a significant proportion of consumers in their first year after installing at least eight solar panels. The advert was deemed to breach CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.9 (Qualification), 3.17, 3.22 (Prices) and 3.38 (Price comparisons).
The rulings in full can be viewed here:
