‘Free and impartial’ addiction helplines paid secret commission by rehabs
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Advertising regulator reprimands services that claim to offer unbiased advice but then direct people to partner facilities. Helplines that claim to offer “free” and “impartial” addiction support have been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for hiding the fact they are paid thousands in commission by private rehabilitation clinics.
![[The Help 4 Addiction helpline broke advertising rules by failing to make clear it was a referral service that earned commission.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c3b680fe371f8c2fc596b864d399e0f6630c16e6/17_0_2136_1282/master/2136.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Amid record drug death rates and high demand for services, one website is promising “free, impartial, expert” advice for those trying to find the best treatment. Another “advisory service”, listed high in Google search results, said it will help people “choose the best drug & alcohol rehab for you”. “We will give you guidance on the best options for your circumstances,” it claimed.
But while they look like nonprofit services and claim to offer unbiased help, the websites are fronts for brokers that direct people to partner facilities in exchange for a referral fee. Last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued rulings against seven companies, accusing them of misleading vulnerable people about the true nature of their businesses.
The ASA said that six brokers – Which Rehab?, Help 4 Addiction, Rehabs.UK, Rehab Guide, Action Rehab and Serenity Addiction Centres – had posed as direct treatment providers or impartial advice services when they were principally referral companies earning commission from partner facilities.
A seventh service, UK Addiction Treatment (Ukat), a chain with “200 CQC [Care Quality Commission] regulated detox and rehab beds across the UK” was found in breach of the advertising code for running a directory website, UK Rehab, that failed to make clear it owned the clinics it refers people to.
