The pre-Christmas mailing was sent out to Halifax credit card customers and contained cheques they could use to make payments from their credit card account.
The mailing said that paying for items with cheques would cost the same as using a credit card. This claim was contested by a recipient because text in a shaded box said "you'll be charged interest at the usual monthly rate for cheques from the date we add it to your account".
The complainant said this was misleading because customers were given seven week's interest free credit when they used their credit cards, while if they used the cheques they would be charged from the day the items hit their account.
The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the mailing was misleading, highlighting contradictory statements in the piece as evidence.
The authority said the claims "the convenience you need at no extra cost" and "remember, there's no additional fee for using these cheques" were contradicted by the line "you'll be charged interest at the usual monthly rate for cheques from the moment we add it to your account".
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