Misleading letter' complaint against IF upheld

Telephone and internet bank Intelligent Finance has agreed to delete information from customers obtained through a "misleading" mailing, it emerged today.

IF, Halifax's online arm, sent out 120,000 letters to mortgage customers asking for insurance details. The letter began: "As your mortgage lender, it is important that the information we hold relating to your current buildings insurance arrangements is accurate." The mailing included a form which asked the customer which company they had their buildings insurance with, and when it was due for renewal. It then requested the same information about their separate contents insurance.

A member of the public contacted the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), saying the company had no legitimate interest in whom they had their contents insurance with. They claimed the letter was used to obtain information for marketing in the future.

Edinburgh-based IF said that as the lender, it was entitled to request buildings insurance details and "did not explicitly ask customers to give information about their contents insurer". However, it accepted that customers might have thought otherwise and agreed to destroy any information about customers' contents insurance obtained through the mailing.

In its adjudication, the ASA said the letter "misleadingly implied that the advertisers needed information about the recipients' contents insurance for their records". It upheld the complaint and asked Intelligent Finance to ensure future mailings were accurately worded.