I don't know the company that published the above advert, and I don't think I've ever heard of them.
My objection to the ad?
"1 Million Aussies Financed Last Year" is deceptive. I wouldn't ever use it... at least as they've used it, and probably not ever.
The statement is not a lie, but I lean on legislation that states we can't use language that is likely to mislead or deceive.
Reference: Section 12DA(1), ASIC Act, 2001, states that a "person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct in relation to financial services that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive".
The clear implication with Pollux's ad is that *they're* doing that volume (1m Refi transactions/yr)... and they're far from it.
I've often battled with the 'over 30 lenders', or 'over 40 lenders' phrase, and the competing phrase (returning better results, and one we regularly use) is "dozens of lenders". Now, even 24 accreditations is dozens, but it's suggestive language - (and probably the most suggestive phrase that we use) - which implies more than, say, 36. We had the phrase cleared by the legal folk, but despite that, it still makes me feel a little slimy.
Another reference. Corporations Act, 2001, Section 1041H(1), states that "[a] person must not, in relation to a financial product or a financial service, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive". It's the same text as the ASIC Act 2001, but it was important enough to throw into both.
In short, ASIC Act 2001 (Section 12DA) and the Corporations Act 2001 (Section 1041H) are the two key legislative instruments that prohibit misleading or deceptive language in financial advertising. The references don't cover the other million or so requirements.
It's a small(ish) thing, but if the phrase is used intentionally to deliberately deceive (or lie to) audiences, it might have really ugly consequences.
FYI, the landing page wasn't compliant, nor was it very good, but that's entirely normal these days.
