Trinity Mirror And IPA Agree Payment Terms Over Birmingham Papers

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and the Trinity Mirror newspaper group have reached an agreement for compensation claims by advertisers resulting from false circulation claims by three titles in Trinity Mirror’s portfolio. The IPA and Trinity have been in discussions for some time trying to agree a satisfactory format for compensating advertisers that bought space in the Evening Mail, Birmingham Post and Sunday Mercury (see IPA And Trinity Mirror To Settle Dispute Over False Circulations).

The papers, all part of the Birmingham Mail & Post group, were discovered in November last year to have been reporting inflated circulation figures since 1994 (see ABC Suspends Birmingham Titles). Initially, Trinity Mirror set aside £20 million to cover compensation costs, but matters were subsequently complicated by the group’s plans to introduce an independent arbitration panel to assess the validity of compensation claims (see IPA Unhappy With Plans To Handle Birmingham Papers’ False ABCs).

Trinity and the IPA have now agreed that rates on all bookings in the papers for 2000 and 2001 will be frozen at 1999 negotiated levels, with an additional 10% rate reduction on 1999 negotiated rates for 2000. There will also be a 7.5% goodwill payment based on all bookings made between January 1994 and January 2000. Trinity Mirror says that these settlements were arrived at following the consideration of a number of criteria including, but not limited to, circulation, readership and direct response.

The IPA and ISBA have both agreed that the terms of settlement are satisfactory. Details of specific sums payable to individual advertisers will be established through the Birmingham Mail & Post group.

Trinity Mirror: 020 7283 3000 Institute of Practitioners in Advertising: 020 7235 7020 Incorporated Society of British Advertisers: 020 7499 7502