Viewers lose their Marbles over credit card ad

NEWS Television advertisements for a credit card that claims to make Internet shopping safe is under investigation by UK TV regulators. The ads for the Marbles credit card, issued by HFC Bank, have provoked five complaints in the last three days. Viewers told the Independent Television Commission (ITC) they found the advertisement's security claims misleading. The ads, which have been broadcast since 15 October, state: "Now there's a credit card that's safe for humans to use online and on the High Street. Now you can pay with Marbles." The ITC will now investigate the complaints over the next few weeks. If upheld, they could result in the Marbles ads being banned from UK screens. HFC Bank's director of communications, Martin Rutland, justified the claims. He told Silicon.com: "Our research showed that people were very concerned about shopping on the Net - and that's why with Marbles, we introduced a safe-shopping promise. If someone does get hold of your number, and uses your card fraudulently, you don't pay a penny." But a spokeswoman for the ITC said: "All the complaints say the ad implies you need a special card to do ecommerce, which could fall into the category of 'misleading'." Normally, consumers are expected to pay the first £50 of damages if their cards are used fraudulently. Rutland conceded that most banks waive this requirement, but said: "So why don't they come out and say it?" HFC Bank is best known for its 'buy now, pay later' store schemes. Rutland said the Marbles card was its first major play in the Internet world.