UK is said to be vigilant in protecting the rights of consumers. Especially, when it comes to keep a check on internet ads or particularly daily deal promotions, its regulatory authority leaves no stones unturned to detect misleading ads.
Advertising standards authority (ASA) has however not cracked down on group buying websites befooling consumers with enticing false statements or daily deals.
The authority has been presenting adjudications, but the least it does is to ask them cross out deals of e.g. inflated discounts, that can lead to supply-side issue, etc.
The authority seems to believe it is fanciful to expect 100 percent compliance of ads with the rules.
“The ASA will not hesitate to clamp down on those companies who mislead consumers but we are encouraged by the willingness of these operators to work with us and to amend their ads when they get it wrong,” the spokesperson told Telegraph.
Group buying companies agreed to improve total quality management after having notified of the misconducts.
Daily deals phenomenon has caught the world of online shoppers by surprise as it offers 50 to 90 per cent off on foods, electronic gadgets, household products, vacations, spa, and lot more other goods and services.
Discount seekers love to make purchase of deals of the day blithely titled as hot deals or best deals sometimes inconsiderable to connotation of the words ‘hot’ and ‘best’.
Unquestionably, the group buying websites or daily deal service providers cannot be brought to the dock for phraseology, at least for use of exaggerated adjectives since no such law exists in this regard; even if that might be there, internet advertisers would jump off seats to protest against, they might dub, censorship.
On what, however, ASA has control are misleading ads that it can ban for the protection of consumer rights.
And, that precisely what it has been doing for months. Of late, it asked LivingSocial to remove a deal found of making a miscommitment.
A 40 pounds service was publicized for 10 pounds but when deal grabbers clicked on buy now, an original price was quoted, according to DailyDealMedia. Similarly, ASA also disallowed kgbdeals from listing a Thai food deal misquoting discounts.
Notably, the above websites are popular in Britain. The group buying mother Groupon’s share in breaches run high. An estimate says half of the complaints is against the Chicago based group buying website.
Instances of unfair practices prop up in the daily deal industry. Sometimes these instances may be negligible for their being part and parcel of evolution online coupon companies are passing through at present.
However, the complainants raise serious question over the workability of group buying model calling for out and out reforms to rein in unpardonable actions. One such highly condemnable act came in the limelight in Chinese daily deal market when Groupon’s offspring Gaopeng listed deals of an international fast food chain without its consent.
It may be noted that Groupon has been facing the broadsides for the wrongdoings of its patronized daily deal companies in other foreign markets. Since these portals are associated with the group buying titan, it has to face the music.
Big brings about big responsibilities. Having raised $ 700 million from US stock market, Groupon has gotten the accolade of becoming the world’s second internet company after Google. The popular search engine raised $ 1.7 billion back in 2004.
Tariq Saeedi is a couponing industry’s analyst holding journalism and marketing degrees and contributing articles to digital and print media. Visit Dealaboo.com for daily deals , hot deals.
