The Consumer Affairs Appeals Tribunal has confirmed that an advert by Melita claiming that its mobile phone services were "up to 30% cheaper" was potentially misleading to the consumer.

The Appeals Tribunal, presided over by Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti, delivered the ruling following an appeal filed by Melita from a decision of the Director of Consumer Affairs.

The Tribunal heard that in February 2009 Melita embarked on a promotional campaign which stated that its mobile phone subscribers would benefit from "up to 30% cheaper mobile rates".

One week later, the Consumer Affairs Division issued a press release saying that the advert included elements which were potentially misleading to the consumer. The press release stated that although the advert claimed that Melita's rates would be up to thirty per cent cheaper, it did not state that calls of less than one minute would be billed as though they were one minute long. The Division added that the words "Calls are on a per second basis after the first minute" which appeared on the advert, were not clear enough to enable the consumer to make an informed decision.

The press release was confirmed by the Director in a decision issued on February 9, and Melita appealed from this decision to the Appeals Tribunal.

On appeal the Tribunal stated that the advert issued by Melita could mislead the consumer because it did not result that all telephone calls made by Melita subscribers would be thirty per cent cheaper than those made by Melita's competitors. A phone call lasting only a few seconds would be billed as though a whole minute was utilised. The words "Calls are on a per second basis" were in bold type on the advert while the following words "...after the first minute" were in normal print.

The court therefore dismissed Melita's appeal and upheld the Director's decision.