O' Connell's Pinergy ads sidelined for 'misleading' customers

A series of advertisements for energy company Pinergy fronted by Irish rugby captain Paul O’Connell have been banned for “misleading” consumers.

The Munster legend is a director and brand ambassador of the company, which offers people pay-as-you-go (PAYG) electricity.

A complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASAI) was upheld, and the company was ordered that the “misleading” adverts not be used again in their current format.

The three advertisements featured Paul O’Connell in a range of family settings — washing line rather than a clothes dryer, turning off home appliances when unused, turning off lights when they are not needed — aimed at demonstrating energy-efficient behaviour.

The ASAI complaint said the ads were misleading as they did not refer to the daily standing charge and government levy that consumers had to pay. Instead, the adverts stated that “let’s you control your electricity costs as you go” and “You only pay for what you use.”

The adverts did state that conditions and standard text rates apply before inviting customers to call or visit the company’s website, which did mention the daily standing charge and government levy.

Pinergy said the service it offered was in its infancy and the purpose of the 30-second advertisement was to educate customers. For that reason, customers were referred to the existence of terms and provided contacts details where consumers could find out more before deciding to switch.

Pinergy pointed out that their customers would only pay for the electricity they used. There were no estimated readings and no electricity bills and customers were 100% in control and responsible for the amount of electricity used in their homes. It felt that within the context of the advertisements, the claim “You only pay, for what you use” was “a fair, true and honest statement.”

The company also said that while other service providers charged the government levy and standing charges on a per bill basis, they had broken them down into a daily rate so that their customers could pay them as they go.

However, the ASAI said that, as pay as you go electricity was a relatively new service, customer expectation of them would be based on the experience of PAYG in the telecommunications sector where no additional charges exist.