We can confirm that we have been notified that the ASA have completed their investigation into the complaint regarding misleading statements by TripAdvisor, but that it is currently protected under confidentiality agreements and no announcement will be made until the ASA Council have met to consider the recommendations and to make their final rulings. We have been informed that this is likely to be 'in the next few weeks'.
The second complaint has now been confirmed as under investigation by the ASA. This is not directly against TripAdvisor. It is an example case that is seeking a ruling on whether unverified reviews such as those generated on the TripAdvisor site can be used by businesses for promotional purposes.
It refers to CAP code rules 3.45 -' Marketers must hold documentary evidence that a testimonial or endorsement used in a marketing communication is genuine, unless it is obviously fictitious, and hold contact details for the person who, or organisation that, gives it.'
No further comment will be made until the full ASA process has been completed.
