Landlord Action rapped by advertising watchdog

The tenancy eviction specialist service Landlord Action has had a complaint about it upheld by the advertising standards watchdog.

The Advertising Standards Authority received one complaint about a claim on the site, which said: “Paul Shamplina - Founder. Paul has worked within in [sic] the legal system since 1997 – specialising in landlord/tenant disputes. As a certified bailiff, he has acted on behalf of landlords with bad tenants, and has enormous expertise in the process and in court proceedings.”

But the complainant, who worked in the property industry, challenged whether the claim that Paul Shamplina was a certified bailiff was misleading and could be substantiated.

Landlord Action responded to the ASA by phone. They stated that Paul Shamplina had been certified as a bailiff in the past, and pointed out that the ad did not explicitly claim that he still was. They said they realised nevertheless that the ad might be misleading, but declined to make any changes or provide a written response.

The ASA said it acknowledged that the ad did not explicitly state that Paul Shamplina was currently a certified bailiff, but it said the wording was ambiguous and could be interpreted to have that meaning.

Because it understood that Paul Shamplina was no longer a certified bailiff, and considered that the ad did not make that clear, it concluded that the claim was misleading.

The wording cannot be used again.