ASA upholds complaint over British Gas 'free' claim

The authority found that the ad should not have referred to repairs provided as part of a monthly price package as "free".

It said that customers could pay a basic fee and pay for repairs, or choose a more expensive plan, with repairs included in the price.

The ruling said: "...we considered that British Gas Services were offering the options of paying slightly less per month with a fixed fee of £50 payable on completion of a repair, or paying the full amount per month with no extra costs applicable; they were not offering free repairs."

BGS had argued that the ad's reference to "free" communicated that those who paid the full cost of HomeCare upfront had nothing more to pay.