Complaint
An antiques dealer complained that a ring he had sold to one of the competing teams as Victorian had been disqualified from the programme because it was misidentified as being made in the 1950s The complainant said this was inaccurate, damaging to his reputation (in a context where he would have been identifiable to clients and other dealers) and that there had been insufficient acknowledgement that a mistake had been made. The ECU considered this as a complaint under the Guidelines on Accuracy and Fairness
Outcome
The original advice, as broadcast on the programme, had been taken from an auctioneer, and was followed in good faith by the programme-makers. On receiving the complaint, however, the programme-makers sought advice from other experts, and from the Goldsmiths’ Company, which confirmed authoritatively that the dealer’s dating had been correct. In the light of this information, the programme-makers made an appropriate refund to the losing team and gave the complainant an assurance that the programme  would not be re-broadcast with the mistake in it. He was also sent an open letter from the series producer acknowledging and apologising for the error.
In the ECU’s view this was an appropriate response to his personal concerns and resolved the complaint in relation to fairness. However it noted that the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Complaints Framework also says the Â鶹ԼÅÄ should “acknowledge fault†when it makes a mistake. The personal letter went a considerable way to address this. But in the ECU’s view there was an additional and distinct obligation on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ to publicly acknowledge an inaccuracy as it had a material effect on audience perception of the programme.
The misdating of the ring and the decision to disqualify it not only featured prominently on the show but also affected the outcome of the competition. In the context of a series of this kind, the mistake was a serious one which, in our view, called for public acknowledgement. As this had not happened by the time the complaint reached the ECU, this aspect of the complaint was upheld.
Resolved/partly upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the Board of Â鶹ԼÅÄ Content and discussed with the programme-makers concerned. A note of the matter has been posted on the Corrections and Clarifications page of bbc.co.uk, and the programme will not be re-broadcast in its original form.