PRE PURCHASE
1. Fair Business, Advertising and Marketing Practices
- Businesses should not make any representation, or omission, or engage in any practice that is likely to be deceptive, misleading, fraudulent or unfair.
- Businesses should not misrepresent or hide terms and conditions that are likely to affect a consumer’s decision regarding a transaction.
- Businesses should not use unfair contract terms.
- For any special offers or free trials, businesses should inform consumers about all eligibility conditions required for the offer in a clear and conspicuous manner, including the length of the offer and any additional charges that will be incurred that are not described in the offer.
- All key conditions should be easily discernable in a text that is easy to find, read, and understand
- The advertised price should be the price at which consumers can actually purchase the product.
- Businesses should not use disclaimers to counter false or misleading pricing claims in advertisements.
2. Unsolicited Email/SMS (Spam)
- Pre-emptive activities to create barriers to e-mail scams such as phishing should be considered.
- Businesses should communicate effectively with their customers. They should clarify which kind of communications can/will be sent by e-mail and define how e-mail addresses and other information may be accessed and modified by the user.
3. Consumer Reviews
- Do not write or knowingly publish false ratings and reviews that appear to come from genuine consumers or independent third parties.
- Do not hire third parties who have not used your product to post ratings and reviews.
- Do not establish a system to enable consumers to report potentially fake ratings and reviews, and react swiftly to such reports.
- Businesses should disclose any incentives you provide for consumer ratings and reviews in a clear and conspicuous manner
- Do not discourage consumers from posting honest negative ratings and reviews and process all ratings and reviews, whether positive or negative, in a fair manner.
- Businesses should present a clear and conspicuous policy of how they handle ratings and reviews and abide by that policy.
4. Information Asymmetry and Clear Information
(i) Businesses should disclose information to consumers consistent with best practices.
(ii) Businesses should establish a proper system to contact easily customers (Eg. Specific telephone numbers, that should be answered to the phone).
(iii) Businesses should disclose their role in or connection with any advertisements or otherwise promotional materials related to their goods and/or services in a clear and prominent manner.
(iv) Businesses should not hide key information or disclosures in fine print or behind pop-up windows and hyperlinks is inappropriate.
5. Personalized and Special Offers
(i) Businesses should send individuals a link to the privacy statement when obtaining their personal data indirectly
(ii) Businesses should establish procedures for customers to access the personal data input into the profiles so they can review and edit for accuracy.
(iii) Businesses should create additional checks for profiling/automated decision-making systems to protect any vulnerable groups such as children.
(iv) Businesses should only collect the minimum amount of data needed and have a clear retention policy for the profiles created.
(v) Businesses should use anonymized data in profiling activities.
PURCHASE
- Order Button
(i) Provide consumers with an opportunity to review summary information about the good or service.
(ii) Ensure that consumers provide express consent
- Quality of Goods
(i) Businesses should not misrepresent or hide terms and conditions that are likely to affect a consumer’s decision regarding a transaction.
(ii) Businesses should not use unfair contract terms.
(iii) Businesses engaged in E-commerce should provide information about the terms, conditions and costs associated with a transaction that is sufficient to enable consumers to make an informed decision regarding a transaction. Consumers should be able to easily access this information at any stage of the transaction.
(iv) Businesses should provide consumers with a clear and full statement of the relevant terms and conditions of the transaction.
(v) Where applicable and appropriate given the transaction, such information should include the following: i) Initial price, including all fixed compulsory charges collected and/or imposed by the business; ii) Information on the existence of variable compulsory and optional charges collected and/or imposed by the business when they become known by the business and before consumers confirm the transaction; iii) Notice of the existence of other routinely applicable costs to the consumer that is collected and/or imposed by third parties; iv) Terms, conditions, and methods of payment, including contract duration, recurring charges, such as automatic repeat purchases and subscription renewals, and ways to opt-out from such automatic arrangements; v) Terms of delivery or performance; vi) Details of and conditions related to withdrawal, termination or cancellation, after-sales service, return, exchange, refunds, warranties and guarantees; vii) Privacy policy; and viii) Information on available dispute resolution and redress options.
(vi) Businesses should enable consumers to retain a complete, accurate and durable record of the transaction, in a format compatible with the device or platform that the consumers used to complete the transaction.
(vii) Businesses should take note of E-commerce law disclosure requirements and ensure full compliance
- Payment Terms
(i) Unified standards and co-ordination between major banks and credit card companies in the area of micropayments are important.
(ii) Interoperable solutions for electronic payment systems/platforms is preferred.
(iii) Online merchants can help promote online payment by obtaining and displaying certificates and awards.
- Delivery and Logistics
(i) Businesses should provide consumers with an opportunity to review summary information about the good or service, as well as any delivery and pricing information before consumers are asked to confirm a transaction.
(ii) Terms of delivery or performance
(iii) Use reliable logistics providers that offer package tracing and delivery confirmation
(iv) Where needed, logistics providers may offer cash-on-delivery services
- Cooling Off Periods/Rights of Cancellation
(i) Even where not obligated to do so, businesses should consider offering consumers the possibility to withdraw from a confirmed transaction in appropriate circumstances.
(ii) Do not provide goods and/or services without affirmative consent for unsolicited offers, such as door-to-door sales (unsolicited visit without prior consent) and inertia selling (negative option) Payment Security
(i) Businesses should provide consumers with easy-to-use payment mechanisms and implement security measures that are commensurate with payment-related risks, including those resulting from unauthorized access or use of personal data, fraud and identity theft.
- Privacy Protection
(i) Businesses should not engage in deceptive practices related to the collection and use of consumers’ personal data.
(ii) Businesses should protect consumer privacy by ensuring that their practices relating to the collection and use of consumer data are lawful, transparent and fair, enable consumer participation and choice, and provide reasonable security safeguards.
(iii) Businesses should adopt clear, prominently displayed privacy policies.
- Jurisdiction
(i) Allow for notifications from consumers in all countries in which the seller operates
(ii) Provide clear guidance on the choice of forum and choice of law for the site
(iii) Prominently disclose contact information and jurisdictional information
POST PURCHASE
- Warranty
• Businesses selling goods and/or services to consumers may be subject to implied warranties based on the principle of ‘fair value for money spent. This includes a warranty of merchantability and the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.
• Even if the product sold ‘as is’, a business may still be responsible if the item is dangerous and causes personal injury to someone.
• Express warranties can take a variety of forms, ranging from advertising claims to formal certificates. An express warranty can be made either orally or in writing.
- Product Safety
• Be aware of product safety requirements and ensure full consumer disclosure.
• Offer customer support to address potential safety issues.
• Offer a consumer feedback mechanism to address potential concerns.
- Dispute Settlement
• Offer consumers easy access to dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Incorporate ADR systems into the website
- Enforcement and Penalties
Industry self-regulation has proven helpful in improving consumer confidence and market functioning by providing support for businesses in overseeing the enforcement of existing legal requirements and even addressing market failures that are not captured by the legal framework or where regulatory actions fail to take place.
Under CAA Act section 60 describes all offences and penalties