Two of GCap's former stations have been found in breach of Ofcom's rules. Both Invicta FM and Power FM conducted competitions unfairly, according to the regulators.
Invicta FM pre-recorded a winner while still requesting that listeners call, while a Power FM presenter pretended her sister was a listener to [i]"ensure continuity of programming”[/i].
A listener to Invicta FM contacted Ofcom in February saying that she had called the studio to enter a competition. Claiming to have given the correct answer, the listener says she was told:[i] “Why is it now that everyone gets the right answer?”[/i].
She was told that the answer had already been accepted and a winner had been found. Yet the next day, the competition was still on-air, with more clues to the answer been given and listeners still been asked to call. The competition was then won when a recording made the previous day was played out.
In finding Invicta FM in breach, Ofcom stated the competition has been conducted unfairly, and expressed concern that the complainant had spent a month trying to discuss her concerns with the station, without success.
Meanwhile at Power FM, when no listeners phoned up the station in response to a competition's trigger track, the presenter on air called their own sister.
GCap later told Ofcom that [i]“the intention was not to deceive the audience but rather to ensure continuity of programming”[/i] and had given away two prizes the next day to compensate for the mistake.
