News

Group buying industry releases code of conduct

group_buying_code_memberAustralia’s group buying industry has formally launched its code of conduct four months after announcing it at Mumbrella360.

The move comes after a run of bad publicity about poor consumer experiences for those who have bought deals.

The framework for the code of conduct was first launched by Spreets, which is owned by Yahoo!7, and Cudo, owned by NineMSN.

They announced the code at a Mumbrella360 session on group buying which also featured the bosses of Living Social/p On it  and Catch Of The Day/ ScoopOn who immediately agreed to sign up.

Today’s announcement sees Groupon, Ouffer and OurDeal come on board too, along with industry bodies ADMA – the Australian Direct Marketing Association – and AIMIA – the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association.  

The complaint handling process will be handled ADMA’s code authority.

At the time of June’s launch, the principles of the proposed code of conduct were this:

Organisations that commit to the Code of Conduct agree to the following:

Our commitment to members is to:

  1. Always offer you great deals – genuine discounts on quality products and services from first class merchants
  2. Never engage in misleading advertising, such as advertising specific discounts or products that don’t actually exist (known as ‘Bait and Switch’)
  3. Make our deal descriptions and terms & conditions clear using plain English so you know what to expect in return for your voucher. Where exclusions exist, they will be equally clear using plain English and will never be intentionally misleading
  4. Make our website terms and conditions clear and in plain English so you know what to expect from your experience with our sites
  5. Respect your privacy at all times and abide by the Privacy Policy you agreed to when you joined the site
  6. Respect your email account at all times, taking measures to protect it from hacking or other fraudulent use
  7. Work with our merchants to make sure you can easily redeem your voucher and that you are treated as good as or even better than a typical full paying customer
  8. Provide responsive and helpful customer support and service – seeking to fully understand and resolve your issues
  9. If you’re not fully satisfied with your experience, we’ll seek to understand why, address the issues and, if your issue cannot be resolved, provide you with a full refund or credit
  10. Do what we say we’re going to do, every time

Our commitment to merchants is to:

1. Work with you and your team to make your group buying promotion as successful as possible

  •  Help you package and price the right deal for your business
  • Help you prepare for the increase in customers
  • Help you manage the increase in demand including capping your offer as necessary
  • Help you maximise your up-sell opportunity to enhance the experience of new customers at
  • your business
  • Help you get customers coming back

2. Provide you with clear payment terms

3. Provide fast, effective, personal customer service through a dedicated account management model

4. Do what we say we’re going to do, every time

The code of conduct has now become a 17 page document (link to PDF).

According to the new code, sanctions that could be applied for those who breach it include:

a) requiring a formal apology for breach;

b) requiring corrective advertising or the withdrawal of offending advertisements or statements;

c) requiring the correction or deletion of relevant records and personal information;

d) recommending refund or replacement of goods or services where appropriate;

e) requiring the Signatory to take specified remedial action to correct the breach and avoid re-occurrence;

f) seeking a written undertaking from the Signatory that the breach will not be repeated;

g) recommending the relevant supply chain or media channel used by the Signatory to communicate with its customers cease to supply and not cooperate with the Signatory in respect of future direct marketing activities planned by the Signatory until the breach is rectified;

h) recommending to the Group Buying Code Committee that Signatory status be suspended or revoked.

However, there are no financial sanctions against those who breach the code. The code is also vague about when it will be administered behind closed doors and when the results will be published. It states that the CEO of ADMA can “issue a formal written admonishment to the non-compliant Signatory, which may, where appropriate, be made public.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.