Don’t risk having to remove your moving ads! Below are the most commonly misunderstood claims BBB|NCTX has noticed in moving advertisements. We’ll explain how to substantiate these types of advertisements or simplistic word modifications to ensure compliance with BBB advertising standards.
Licensing is a must!
If you’re moving household goods in the State of Texas you must be licensed with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV). Likewise, if you’re doing a move across state lines, you must be licensed by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). Lastly, make sure these license numbers are clearly visible on all vehicles, websites, and social media platforms.
Movers are not authorized to display government agency seals or logos without written permission. Simply being licensed is not the same as having written permission to display government seals. Likewise, if you advertise that you are a member or certified by a trade group or moving association, include a hyperlink to your profile with the organization to avoid consumer confusion. Using these logos without being certified or a member is misleading and should be avoided.
Satisfaction and money-back guarantees
These are probably the most frequently misused guarantees BBB sees. You should only advertise these guarantees if full refunds are provided for any reason whatsoever. This doesn’t mean that you’ll come back and fix the issues; it means you’ll refund the entire purchase price. If this isn’t your intent, BBB recommends modifying the verbiage to avoid exposing your business to potential liability. For example, “Your Satisfaction is our Top Priority” or “Customer Satisfaction is Our Main Goal!” If you do provide full refunds, money-back guarantees require all terms and conditions necessary to receive a refund on the ad or direct consumers to your website for the full terms.
Guarantee and warranty claims
Almost every mover mentions something about product or service guarantees and warranties. Unlike satisfaction guarantees above, these claims only require a simple disclaimer like “Call for Details.” Most consumers assume they’ll automatically receive the advertised guarantee or warranty. However, if they must purchase it, it requires additional action(s) to avoid voiding the warranty, or if there are other restrictions involved, these terms need to be made available so consumers know what to expect. Rather than listing all the terms for the guarantee or warranty in your ads, including this simple disclaimer to “Call for Details” is sufficient.
Environmental benefit claims
Everyone is going green these days, but if you’re advertising that you’re “eco-friendly” you need to specifically mention how your product or service is beneficial for the environment. These are known as qualifiers.
Certain qualifiers require substantiation when others may simply require clarification (“we use LED lights to reduce our carbon footprint” versus “our product is non-toxic”). For instance, you need scientific evidence to prove organic, biodegradable, non-toxic, or recyclable claims for products. However, if you say that your business is green because your business recycles, that would not necessarily require scientific substantiation. Make sure that you are specific and be ready to substantiate that you are actually doing what you are advertising.
Price matching (meet or beat) claims
In the moving industry, consumers certainly understand that the lowest price isn’t always the best value. However, if you want to advertise best prices you should be ready to prove that you have the lowest prices among all competitors.
If you have a price matching guarantee, you don’t have to prove you have the lowest price among all potential competitors. Just make sure the complete terms and conditions necessary to receive that price matching guarantee are clearly visible when you mention the guarantee.
No one wants to lower their prices to compete with an inferior product, so be sure you insulate your business from potential liability by including terms like:
- We will only beat written estimates
- Must be sufficiently similar product/service
- Proof of purchase is required
- Must provide estimate within 10 days
Make your terms obvious and ensure the terms you select aren’t too difficult for average consumers to meet.
Free prior to publication review services: If you want to make sure your ads adhere to the highest standards for trust and transparency, contact BBB|NCTX’s Advertising Review Department at adreview@nctx.bbb.org. We’ll gladly review any content free of charge for all businesses, BBB Accredited and non-accredited.