SINGAPORE — A customer who was misled by a fast-food joint’s advertisement and was charged extra money was among the 18 customer complaints that the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (Asas) received last year which were related to restaurant advertisements.

These complaints, which were related to restaurant advertisements and included ads in food delivery and restaurant reservation mobile applications, are a third more than the 12 received in 2017.  

They included price disparities, discount discrepancies and unclear food descriptions on menus, among others.

For instance, customers who patronised an unnamed restaurant reported to Asas that they were charged Goods and Services Tax (GST) on top of the price listed in promotional materials.

Another example of misleading advertising involved an unnamed fast-food establishment having a promotion that did not match its accompanying image. The image showed an orange juice and a side dish and its accompanying text said that the upsized offer cost S$1.

However, a customer who ordered an upsized orange juice was charged another dollar more. After Asas wrote to the food joint, it said that the promotion applied only to soft drinks, not orange juice.

In both cases, the food establishments complied with Asas' advice: The restaurant displayed its prices, terms and conditions prominently, while the fast-food outlet changed the promotion image to avoid misunderstanding.

Almost 90 per cent of the 218 advertisement-related feedback cases that Asas received last year consisted of customer complaints.

The beauty industry chalked up the most complaints with 19 cases — five were related to misleading advertising for hair-loss treatment which did not follow the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice.

Other forms of feedback included complaints from businesses and a government agency, as well as requests for advertising advice, said Asas in its reply to TODAY’s queries.

The authority saw a 23 per cent drop in feedback cases last year, from 269 in 2017 to 218.

In its media release on Tuesday (April 30), Asas' chairman Ang Peng Hwa reminded advertisers that promotional information must be truthful, and all pertinent terms and conditions must be clearly stated.

Consumers who encounter advertisements that are not legal, decent or honest are encouraged to write to Asas with a clear copy of the advertisement and details on where they saw it.