Daily Times

KARACHI: Real estate developers are increasingly misleading potential investors through use of ambiguous and unsubstantiated information in their advertising campaigns, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) observed on Friday.

In an order issued against Green Field Developers (GFD), the CCP has asked the real estate developer to pay a fine of Rs2.5 million for distribution of false and misleading information to potential consumers. The GFD has shown the location of its housing project, named Green City, in Islamabad when it is actually located in Fateh Jang area of Attock city.

The CCP had taken notice of advertisements published in print media and displayed on billboards after the launch of project in Attock district. It conducted an inquiry into the matter and issued show cause notice to GFD. During the hearings, GFD could not substantiate its advertising claims.

However, the developer denied the charges and claimed that its marketing claims as contained in the advertisements of the Green City Project did not amount to deceptive marketing practices under Section 10 of the Act. The GDL also claimed that the CCP had failed to take any action against other real estate developers wrongly showing the location of their projects in Islamabad in their marketing campaigns. These, it said, included Wapda Town Islamabad, Airline Avenue Islamabad, and Airport Enclave Islamabad.

The CCP said that showing the location of a project in Islamabad implied that the developer had obtained permission for the purpose from the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

‘This was certainly not the case,’ it added. “The GFD does not have any approval or permission from CDA, instead it has an NOC issued by the Tehsil Municipal Authority of Fateh Jang.

The CCP, therefore, holds that the use of the term ‘Islamabad’ in conjunction with “Green City” by the GFD for the advertisement of Green City Project, directly or indirectly, amounts to the dissemination of false and misleading information to consumers in terms of Section l0(2)(b) of the Act in violation of Section l0 1) of the Act,” reads the order issued on Friday.

The CCP has directed the developer to ensure that it does not use of the word ‘Islamabad’ in the name of the housing scheme and that unauthorised affiliation logos are not displayed on its website or any promotional material in future.

Recently, the CDA had declared over 100 housing schemes as illegal and issued warnings for the general public to refrain from investing any money in those schemes.

Published in Daily Times, December 23^rd 2017.