Origin Mattress's countdown timers never led back to the real price

Between November and December 2025, originmattress.co.uk ran an almost unbroken stream of countdown sales: 'Boxing Day Mega Savings — save up to 34%', then 'Hurry! Up to 33% off ends...' as 'New Year's Savings', plus banners promising 'up to 27% with two free pillows worth £196'. Product pages showed struck-through 'from' prices — the Hybrid mattress at 'from £403', a bold red '£278' and a 'Save £125' badge.

None of the framing held up when rival Simba Sleep complained. The '27% saving' came only from the retail value of the free pillows, not from any discount on the mattress. The countdowns never led back to an ordinary price: Boxing Day simply rolled into New Year on a tiered schedule in which prices rose week by week. And the £403 'was' price was not a previous selling price at all — it added the £98 pillow value to the £305 mattress — with no sales data to show it had ever been charged.

On 15 July 2026 the ASA upheld all three complaints under CAP Code rules on misleading advertising, qualification and pricing. A pop-up explanation one click away could not override the headline impression. The ads must not appear again in the same form: savings claims may not rest on the value of free items, and countdowns must not fake urgency.