Law Prep Tutorials has come under scrutiny for its recent print advertisement claiming false & misleading information
Investigation done by Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) found that the brand used false photographs & inflated ranks
Owner of Lucknow Franchise of Law Prep, Nitin Rakesh published fake information around Lucknow CLAT 2023 toppers in various promotional activities
CCC took action against the brand after investigations revealed that the brand has violated various clauses of the ASCI code & stands guilty of wrong practices
June 2023: With the board examinations results being declared, the next major step for students and their parents is to make a career decision and start a new journey to build a future. Educational institutions and entrance exam coaching centers across the country gear up their promotional activities to enroll students.
In such a promotional activity recently done by a CLAT coaching institute Law Prep Tutorials came under scrutiny for publishing fake and misleading ads.
Law Prep Lucknow, owned by Nitin Rakesh has been claiming Lucknow CLAT topper, All India Rank 1 to 10 and over 500 selections in NLUs in their various print, digital and offline advertisements across the city. Surprisingly, the claims made by them were found to be fake and unsubstantiated.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) came heavily on Law Prep Tutorial for publishing advertisements that had misleading and wrong information showcasing their students as AIR toppers and directed them to immediately take down advertisements.
Such advertisements confuse the customers and it is important that advertisements should be based on results that can be proven, the governing body rules out.
“This incident raises several concerns on the intentions of Law Prep Tutorials as such advertisements are a blatant attempt to mislead vulnerable students and their families into enrolling in the coaching institute. Where are their ethics,”said an Industry leader on the request of anonymity.
The advertisement was recently published in a large and reputed newspaper in Lucknow and in various social media and online platforms. This was reported to be a serious violation of various clauses of the ASCI Code. A complaint was filed against the heinous act of Law Prep Tutorials with the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) which investigated the matter and found Law Prep Tutorials guilty.
As per the copy of the ruling made by the governing body in this matter it was found that Law Prep Tutorials claims of producing “Lucknow CLAT 2023 toppers” and ” 500+ selections in NLUs” were baseless.
Despite the ASCI requesting Law Prep Tutorials to address the complaints, the coaching institute did not respond to the council or the complainant. As a result, the CCC upheld the complaint and advised Law Prep Tutorial to modify or withdraw the advertisement by May 9, 2023.
“Such predatory and exploitative practices by coaching institutes can have a severe impact on the mental health and financial stability of students and their families. Law Prep Tutorial has been found guilty of such practices and is advised to take this matter seriously and ensure that its future advertising practices are in compliance with the ASCI Code, ” shared officials of a well-known entrance exams preparation brand.
We will never support such acts. It is a matter of shame for Law Prep Tutorials. Students treat us as their Gurus and if we do such things then it is a complete loss of respect. This brand should be boycotted. They owe an apology to each industry player” they added.
Last year, Law Prep Tutorial, Marwari Catalysts’ Portfolio Startup, raised USD 100K in seed round from MCats.Founded in 2008 by Sagar & Anupama Joshi, Law prep Lucknow is a franchisee of Jodhpur based Law Prep Tutorials. The franchisee owner Mr Nitin Rakesh has cases of extortion and cheating (IPC Section 386 & 420) pending against him in the Lucknow court. He is out on bail.