• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 19, 2016

An ad industry watchdog has referred Sprint to the Federal Communications Commission over ads stating that mobile customers can save 50% on their monthly rates by switching to Sprint.

The National Advertising Division, a unit administered by the Better Business Bureau, recommended in May that Sprint revise the ads, which appeared on TV, the radio, the Web, and in print. On Friday, the NAD said it had referred Sprint to the FCC because the company "has not agreed to implement all of NAD’s recommendations."

A Sprint spokeswoman says the company believes its ads are "truthful, accurate and in the spirit of competition."

The ads, which were challenged by T-Mobile, promised to slash people's bills by 50% when they switched to Sprint. T-Mobile argued that the boasts were problematic because its customers are on "hundreds" of plans, and only some customers would see their bills reduced by 50% by switching to Sprint.

Sprint countered that its ads carried disclaimers that provided more details about how its plan compared to various T-Mobile offerings.

The NAD recommended in May that Sprint discontinue some of the TV ads challenged by T-Mobile, and advised Sprint to modify its print and Internet ads, to make clear that only customers who had three specific T-Mobile Simple Choice plans would save 50% by moving to Sprint. (T-Mobile this week said it will discontinue those plans.)

The watchdog also said that Sprint should "clearly and conspicuously" disclose differences between its plans and the ones the offered by T-Mobile, including that T-Mobile offered unlimited streaming (through Binge On) and roll-over of unused data.

After that initial decision came out, Sprint revised some of its ads, but continued to boast on TV, the Web, radio and in print that people can save 50% by switching carriers.

T-Mobile then argued to the NAD that Sprint's new ads still don't comply with the recommendations.

The NAD indicated in an opinion made public on Friday that it agreed with T-Mobile.

"In its underlying decision, NAD cautioned that sweeping rate comparisons, such as the ones at issue here, may simply be too complex to explain in 15- to 30-second broadcast commercials," the organization wrote, referring to the TV ads. "The 50% off claim as it currently appears does not identify the basis of comparison -- i.e., as to T-Mobile, its Simple Choice rate plan 2GB, 6GB and 10GB. Even if the advertiser specified the T-Mobile rate plans that form the basis of the comparison, the advertiser must also clearly and conspicuously disclose the material terms."

The NAD recommended in its new opinion that Sprint revise its TV ads in several ways, including by "clearly and conspicuously" stating that the 50% off deal only applied specific T-Mobile plans. The self-regulatory made a similar recommendation regarding online and print ads.

The watchdog said Sprint refused to accept all of the recommendations, triggering a referral to the FCC.