01
Unauthorised logo
Some repair ads use a brand’s logo without permission.
MISLEADING ADVERTISING
Fight unfair competition in repair service ads
On Google, Meta, Bing and every major advertising platform.
01 / 08The search
A customer needs their washing machine repaired
They look for a repair service nearby, and the first results they see are ads.
02 / 08The appearance
One ad presents itself as an authorised repairer
It displays the logo of a registered trade mark and the claim “authorised repairer” without the manufacturer’s authorisation.
03 / 08The imbalance
Those who follow the rules lose out
The independent service advertises lawfully, but the false appearance of authorisation takes the clicks and the calls.
04 / 08The law
Repairing any brand is legitimate
Right-to-repair rules give professional repairers access to spare parts, and section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 lets them name the brand to indicate what they repair, provided they act in accordance with honest practices.
05 / 08The platform
Google Ads does not allow this practice
Its policies prohibit implying a non-existent affiliation with another brand and using third-party logos in a way that causes confusion.
06 / 08The watch
We detect and document every ad
We monitor searches by area and preserve the ad and its landing page, with date, time and location.
07 / 08The report
We file the report with the platform
We submit a case file to Google Ads with the evidence and the policies breached, so that it can review the ad.
08 / 08The removal
We work to remove those who compete by deception
We follow each report through to its resolution and keep watching for repeat offences. Removal is the platform’s decision; our job is to make sure it has all the evidence.
Compete on your work. Not on a false impression.
Description of each scene
- A customer needs their washing machine repaired. A washing machine with its drum stopped, water on the floor and a red warning. In the browser, “washing machine repair near me” is typed and two sponsored ads appear: “Authorised BRAND Repairer”, with the brand’s logo, and “BRAND washing machine repairs · Independent repair service”.
- One ad presents itself as an authorised repairer. The first ad is outlined in red. Marker 1 points to the logo (“Unauthorised logo”) and marker 2 to the word “Authorised” (“Authorised” without proof). A magnifying glass enlarges the logo with the registered trade mark symbol.
- Those who follow the rules lose out. A cursor clicks on the “authorised” ad and three call icons appear. The independent ad fades. A pair of scales tips: “False impression” weighs more than “Follows the rules”.
- Repairing any brand is legitimate. Two cards: “Right to repair” and “Trade Marks Act, s. 11”. Below, two example ads: “We repair BRAND machines”, which names the brand and is allowed, with a tick; and “Authorised Repairer” with a third-party logo, which is not allowed, with a cross. The ads in the browser receive the same tick and the same cross.
- Google Ads does not allow this practice. A document titled “Google Ads policies” lists three practices marked with a cross: non-existent affiliation, another brand’s logo and misleading claim. A stamp reads “Not allowed”. The “authorised” ad receives the label “In breach”.
- We detect and document every ad. The VigiaLabs lighthouse casts a beam over the results, a scan line runs down the page and corner brackets frame the infringing ad. A case file opens with four pieces of evidence: capture, date and time, area and destination.
- We file the report with the platform. The case file travels along a dashed line to a shield labelled “Google Ads”. “Report submitted”, “Evidence attached” and “Policies cited” appear. The “authorised” ad changes to “Under review”.
- We work to remove those who compete by deception. The “authorised” ad receives the stamp “Ad removed” and disappears. The independent ad moves up to first place, outlined. The scales balance with two services that follow the rules, under the heading “A level playing field”.
IN SHORT
Those who follow the rules lose out
Your appliance repair business presents itself as independent. Another advertiser uses “official” or “authorised service” and manufacturer logos without substantiating that relationship. We document the ad and destination to assess possible confusion.
02
“Authorised” without proof
They say they are an “authorised repairer” and they are not.
03
The imbalance
That is how they win customers from the repairers who obey the law.
04
The law
The law allows anyone to repair any brand and to name it, but not to pass themselves off as the brand.
05
The watch
VigiaLabs finds these ads, keeps the evidence and reports them to Google Ads.
06
The removal
Google decides whether to remove the ad.
OUR APPROACH
Compete on your work. Not on a false impression.
What we examine
- Ads by search and location
- Visible claims and logos
- Consistency between ad and website
What you gain
Evidence to defend your positioning and support a substantiated platform review.
- 01
We detect and document every ad
We monitor searches by area and preserve the ad and its landing page, with date, time and location.
- 02
We file the report with the platform
We submit a case file to Google Ads with the evidence and the policies breached, so that it can review the ad.
- 03
We work to remove those who compete by deception
We follow each report through to its resolution and keep watching for repeat offences. Removal is the platform’s decision; our job is to make sure it has all the evidence.
Illustrative caseVL / ADS
False impressionSponsoredAuthorised BRAND RepairerThird-party logo: not allowedNot allowed
Follows the rulesSponsoredBRAND washing machine repairsIndependent repair serviceNames the brand: allowed
Advertisers
Repairing any brand is legitimate
Right-to-repair rules give professional repairers access to spare parts, and section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 lets them name the brand to indicate what they repair, provided they act in accordance with honest practices.
Google Ads policiesIts policies prohibit implying a non-existent affiliation with another brand and using third-party logos in a way that causes confusion.
- 01Non-existent affiliation
- 02Another brand’s logo
- 03Misleading claim
PUTTING THE PLATFORM ON NOTICE
The platform decides. The case file puts on record that it was told.
Whether an ad is removed is the platform’s decision. A case file with dated, verifiable evidence puts on record that it was told. Under the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, a host is not liable for what it stores while it has no actual knowledge that it is unlawful; once it knows, it keeps that protection only if it acts expeditiously to remove the information or disable access to it.
What a court looks at in a notice
- Whether it reached the provider through its published contact details
- The sender’s full name and address
- Where the information is
- Why it is unlawful
What a notice does not guarantee
No notice guarantees removal. Knowledge is judged ad by ad: the record does not make the platform liable for what it was never told about, and whether the protection is lost in a given case is for a court to decide.
- 01
A notice the platform can check
Each notice gives the exact address of the ad, explains why it is unlawful and attaches dated evidence that a third party can verify. The platform can assess the facts without investigating them itself.
- 02
A record of notices and replies
VigiaLabs keeps every notice sent and every decision of the platform, with their dates. If the ad comes back, it is documented again and added to the same record.
- 03
If the breach continues
The record shows what the platform was told and when. A court deciding whether the platform had actual knowledge takes into account the notices it received and what they contained.
- 04
If the platform does not act
VigiaLabs follows each notice until the platform decides. If the matter is to go to an authority or to court, you or your adviser take it there with the same record.
GLOSSARY
The terms and the sources, in plain view.
Every case is documented with sources and context. Scope is agreed for each market; the references on this page are to the law of the United Kingdom.
- Sponsored ad
- A paid ad that appears among the search engine’s results.
- Authorised repairer
- A repairer authorised by the brand’s manufacturer.
- Independent repair service
- A repairer that fixes appliances of any brand without being authorised by the manufacturer.
- Registered trade mark (®)
- A name or logo protected in favour of its owner.
- Right to repair
- Rules that make appliances easier to repair. In Great Britain, the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 require manufacturers to make spare parts available to professional repairers.
- Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1994
- The provision of UK trade mark law, in subsection (2)(c), that allows another company’s trade mark to be used to indicate what is repaired, provided honest practices are followed.
- Google Ads
- Google’s advertising platform.
- Case file
- The set of evidence for a case: screenshots, dates, times and web addresses.
- Section 226 of the DMCC Act 2024
- The provision of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 under which giving consumers false or misleading information about a trader is a misleading action, which the Act prohibits when it is likely to change a consumer’s decision. Claiming to be an authorised repairer without being one is information of that kind.
References
- Trade Marks Act 1994, section 11 (legislation.gov.uk)
- The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Google Ads: misrepresentation policy
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 226 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, regulation 19
- Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, regulation 22
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A level playing field starts with clearing out misleading ads.
A repairer that advertises as “authorised” without being so takes clicks and calls that should have gone elsewhere. Documenting that ad and taking it to the platform is the way back to competing on equal terms.
A competitor advertises as an “authorised repairer” without being one. What can I do?
Document the ad and report it to the advertising platform. Google Ads policies prohibit implying a non-existent affiliation with another brand and using third-party logos in a way that causes confusion. VigiaLabs monitors searches in your area, preserves the ad and its landing page with date, time and location, and submits the case file to the platform so that it can review the ad.
Can an independent repairer name the brand it repairs under UK law?
Yes. Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 lets a repairer use another company’s trade mark to indicate what it repairs, provided it acts in accordance with honest practices, and right-to-repair rules give professional repairers access to spare parts. Neither covers posing as the manufacturer’s authorised repairer or using its logo without authorisation: false information about a trader can be a misleading action under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Is it also useful for a manufacturer, a repairers’ trade association or a consumer organisation?
Yes. A manufacturer can monitor who uses its trade mark and its logo in ads; a trade association, the ads that harm its members; and a consumer organisation, those that mislead customers about who is serving them. In every case the result is a case file with the evidence for each ad.
What evidence does VigiaLabs gather, and who does it submit it to?
Each case file gathers the capture of the ad, the date and time, the area of the search and the landing page, together with the policies breached. VigiaLabs submits it to the advertising platform. If the matter is to go to an authority, you or your adviser take it there with the same file.
Does VigiaLabs guarantee that the ad will be removed?
No. Whether an ad is removed is the advertising platform’s decision. VigiaLabs makes sure the platform has all the evidence: we follow each report through to its resolution and keep watching for repeat offences.
What happens if the platform does not remove the reported ad?
The decision is the platform’s, but it is on record. VigiaLabs keeps every notice, with its dated evidence, and every reply. Under the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, a host that has actual knowledge of unlawful information keeps its protection from liability only if it acts expeditiously to remove it. With that record, you or your adviser can take the matter to an authority or to court.
LET’S LOOK FURTHER
A clearer view starts
with a conversation.
Tell us what you want to monitor. Together, we will define a scope that makes sense for your business.
Discuss your projectcontact@vigialabs.ai
A focused conversation about your goals, markets and priorities.