Online discounter Brand Alley has had its knuckles wrapped by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over the level of discount it claimed on its ads.

The ASA acted after a complaint from rival M and M Direct, which said an ad claiming Brand Alley was offering “80% off your favourite designer brands” was misleading because they did not believe a large proportion of items on the site were discounted by the stated 80%.

To claim a certain discount retailers must be able to prove that at least 10% of its items are available at that discounted level.

Brand Alley said it did not mean to mislead the public and although it often offers 80% off, as its Sales only last for a few days it is harder to quantify.

On the day of the ad in question it accepts this was not the case.