Advertising watchdog raps Land Registry firm over 'official' claims

The advertising watchdog has rapped a website that looked as though it was providing official Land Registry information on behalf of the Government.

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld the complaint against LandRegistryOnline.net, and the Land Registry said it welcomed the ruling.

Land Registry Online, based at 18 High Meadows, Compton, Wolverhampton,  described itself on its website as: “The home of official Title Documents & Property Searches ... We are the leading Land Registry online search portal in the UK ... Official Documents ... We provide official Land Registry documents for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Small print in grey text on a black background stated “Disclaimer: LandRegistryOnline.net is an independent organization not affiliated with the UK Government.”

The website told the ASA that the word “official” was used so that customers would know they could purchase official documents. It had an account with the Land Registry and was an authorised re-seller of documents. It felt its disclaimer was sufficient.

However, the ASA disagreed and felt consumers were given the impression that Land Registry Online was an official portal for official title documents. The disclaimer was not prominent enough, and Land Registry Online has been told not to imply that it offers an official government service in future.

A spokesperson for the Land Registry told EAT: “We welcome the ruling by the ASA that means potential Land Registry customers will not be misled into believing they are dealing with us by LandRegistryOnline.net  

“Although they have a business account with us, they are not part of Land Registry.
 
“We are aware that a number of websites exist which sell our services and forms at considerably marked up costs and we take cases seriously where parties claim they have been misled into believing they were dealing with Land Registry.

“Following the ruling, we will now give active consideration to approaching the  ASA when competing sites are drawn to our attention as misleading.
 
“We keep an active log recording sites about which we have received complaints that they are infringing our trademarks or confusing the public by passing themselves off as an official government website.

“We have also clarified our relationship with commercial service providers (companies not part of Land Registry or connected to us in any way) on our website."