Tesco did not breach the CAP Code when it used the prices on a competitor's web site for price comparison purposes, rather than the cheaper in-store prices. That is according to the Advertising Standards Authority, which administers the CAP Code. The CAP Code is a code of practice governing the content of adverts and marketing communications. Although the Code does not have legal force, it is best practice to comply with it, as failure to do so can result in bad publicity and ultimately an inability to obtain advertising space.
In this case, Tesco compared the price of its £9.76 razor blades with those at Boots, which Tesco said were priced at £11.24. Boots complained that this was misleading as the price in its shop was £9.60. The ASA rejected the complaint because it said that Tesco had conducted sufficient research to show that Boots' Internet prices were generally the same if not lower than its in-store prices. Although Boots said that its online prices were sometimes more expensive than their in-store ones, it could not give any indication for how often that happened. Tesco said that it could have put a disclaimer in all of its adverts but it thought that would be too cumbersome a way to fix a small problem. The ASA agreed that what Tesco did was fair.
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