FAS: COURT ORDERED RAIFFEISENBANK TO PLACE COUNTER-ADVERTISEMENT DUE TO FALSE ADS "CASHBACK FOR EVERYTHING"

The bank misinformed consumers about the terms of the financial product

Earlier, a citizen complained to FAS Russia about an advertisement for a debit Cashback card of Raiffeisenbank JSC, which was broadcast on TV channels.

The commercial used the statements "Cashback for everything", "Cashback for everything without conditions and restrictions", "1.5 % rubles, not points". The disclaimers informing about the conditions and limitations of the financial product were placed in small print and demonstrated for a short time.

The authority recognized the advertisement as improper*, issued remedies to Raiffeisenbank JSC to stop violation of the advertising legislation and imposed a fine on the bank. The organization provided the authority with a report on the execution of the remedies.

In February 2023, FAS Russia used its right** and appealed to the Arbitration Court of Moscow with a request to oblige Raiffeisenbank JSC to carry out counter-advertising at its own expense. The court fully satisfied the claim of the authority. Later, this approach was supported by the courts of two instances.

In the counter-advertisement, the company should indicate that FAS Russia recognized the advertising of the debit cashback card as unreliable and cashback is not charged for all types of transactions. Counter-advertising will have be broadcast on REN-TV channel for 7 days in prime time once a day. The bank must comply with the court's decision and submit to FAS Russia a report on the placement of counter-advertising.

* Paragraph 2 of Part 3 of Article 5 of the Law on Advertising

** Paragraph 3 of Article 38 of the Law on Advertising