The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints against three HGV training providers, following a challenge brought by J Coates HGV Services, ruling that a range of marketing claims were misleading or unsubstantiated.
The decisions, published today (22 April), relate to Easy as HGV, HGV Learning, and HGVT, and form part of a wider ASA investigation into advertising practices in the HGV training sector.
In its ruling against Easy as HGV, the ASA upheld complaints relating to claims around pass rates and its range of services.
The watchdog found that claims such as “we ensure high pass rates with our Pass Protection service” were misleading, as the evidence provided did not match consumer expectations of guaranteed or significantly higher success rates.
Although the company supplied data indicating a 72% pass rate across first and second attempts for users of the service, the ASA said this was insufficient to substantiate the impression created by the advertising.
The regulator also upheld complaints about claims such as “high quality training” and references to a network of more than 90 training centres, concluding that consumers were likely to believe Easy as HGV directly delivered training, when in fact it acts as an intermediary coordinating training through third-party providers.
The ASA also upheld a complaint against HGV Learning over the wording, “Our high pass rates”.
The regulator said consumers would interpret this as implying above-average success rates, but the company failed to provide any evidence to support the claim, including pass rate data, time periods, or relevant benchmarks.
In the absence of substantiation, the ASA concluded the claim was misleading and must not appear again in its current form.
In a third ruling, HGVT was found to have breached the Advertising Code over a wider range of claims, including references to being the “UK’s largest provider of LGV/HGV training” and “the best-rated HGV training provider in Glasgow”.
The ASA said the company did not provide adequate evidence to support these claims.
It also upheld complaints regarding promotional messaging and pass rate claims, as well as finding that some content could mislead consumers into thinking the company was acting outside its commercial capacity.
The ASA said the rulings are part of a coordinated investigation of HGV training advertising, as the UK’s HGV driver shortage increases demand for training services. The ASA identified similar breaches across all three operators, particularly around pass rates, service descriptions, and comparative claims.
In each case, the ASA ruled that the ads must not appear again in their current form and instructed the companies to ensure future marketing is clear, accurate, and fully substantiated.
