Commission on Fairness upholds complaint against Blick am Abend
The Fairness Commission has approved a complaint by the Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS) against Blick am Abend. The free newspaper had advertised a fee-based insurance comparison service with slogans such as "Medicine against premium shock".
For a fee of 90 centimes per SMS, consumers were to be informed by the service of the three cheapest health insurance premiums. The SKS had criticized that the indicated premiums were not the cheapest. This complaint was now approved, the SKS said.
"We are very happy about the decision of the Fairness Commission," said Sara Stalder, head of the SKS, when asked by the SDA news agency. It is deceptive, she said, if someone does not know who is behind an SMS service. The SKS has determined that only a handful of insurance companies were behind Ringier's offer, she said. "This is not information, but misleading". The SKS will also keep an eye on these offers in the premium round next fall, he said. "Such comparison services are to be taken with great caution".
Ringier takes note of the decision of the Fairness Commission, Matthias Graf, Head of Corporate Communications at Ringier, said on Thursday in response to a question. "We have ensured internally that, when publishing information on services, references to possible restrictions are published if necessary." (SDA)
