British Reliable Business Network

Code of Business Practices

Sections:

Introduction
Objective
Advertising
Business Information Required
Product Information
Guarantee
Repairs and Servicing
Customer Payments
Delivery
Pricing
Discounts
Order Review
Sales Confirmation
Refunds
Deposits
Privacy Policy
Customer Services
Customer Satisfaction
Error Correction
Complaints
The use of Courts
Monitoring

Introduction

BRBN requires a high standard of commercial and technical competence amongst its members providing consumers with quality products, services and customer support. The British Reliable Business Network (BRBN) code sets out basic standards of services and practices. The BRBN membership seals certify good performance by businesses.

Objective

The objective of this code is to help member companies conduct business in the best consumer friendly way possible. The BRBN code contains practical guidelines for achieving the goals and objectives of a business model. This code does not force how business goals should be reached, leaving the decisions up to the BRBN member companies that knows their business model best.

Our members are conscious of their obligations to consumers and continue to meet them willingly as part of a standard of good business practice. One of the pre-requisites of membership of BRBN is that businesses should provide clear, precise and adequate information for any products or services on offer.

In the event that a member's dealing to a consumer is proved to have fallen below the standards set by the Code, the measures, which may be imposed, are a formal warning or termination of BRBN membership. BRBN members should not knowingly link to any fraudulent, pornographic or illegal sites.

The BRBN code is designed to allow both local and online businesses, throughout the United Kingdom, to take advantage of new technology, to further innovation and promote best practices while adhering to basic business principles that provide truthful and accurate information to customers.

Advertising

BRBN members who advertise their products in print, electronic media or e-commerce should not engage in deceptive or misleading trade practices with regard to any aspect of advertising or marketing, or in their use of technology. All members should engage in truthful advertising and should not make misleading representations or omissions of material facts.

All advertisements shall be clear and honest and in accordance with the British Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion and complying with all relevant legislation in the United Kingdom.
All member businesses should be able to substantiate any express or claims made in their advertising.
All businesses should also disclose their advertising to be such if failure to do so might be misleading to consumers.
If a price comparison is made the business should be able to do that only for the similar products and with reference to geographical location of the other business providing the similar product.
BRBN members should not mislead customers by creating the false impression of sponsorship, trustworthiness, product quality and business size.
Sites should clearly distinguish advertising from news and information, using labels or other visual means. This includes "in-house" advertising or cross-corporate ad sponsorships. Search engines, shopping tools and portals should clearly disclose paid result-placement advertising, so consumers may distinguish between objective search results and paid ads.
Sites should clearly disclose relevant business relationships, including sponsored links to other sites. For example: A site that directs a reader to another site to buy a book should clearly disclose any financial relationship between the two sites.
Sites should identify sponsors. The site's sponsorship policies should be clearly noted in accompanying text or on an "About Us" or "Site Centre" page.

Business Information

All members should provide, at a minimum, the following contact information while doing business online:

Legal name,
Business name,
Physical address or information on how to contact in writing,
A telephone number or an e-mail address,
Customer service contact
BRBN members should provide customers and any prospective customers information about their business, the goods or services available for purchase online, and also the transactions while online.
Sites should clearly disclose their ownership, private or public, naming their parent company.
Sites should clearly disclose their purpose and mission.
If the information relates to the goods or services available for purchase online, it should be accessible before the customer purchases the goods or commits to buy.

Product Information

BRBN members should provide enough information available about the goods or services available online so that customers can make an informed choice about whether to purchase such goods or services.

The information provided to customers or prospective customers about the business, its goods or services should be clear, accurate, and easy to find and understand. The information should be readily accessible.

This will normally include:

Full description of the goods
Full specification
Purpose the goods can serve
Available options

BRBN members should make clear before the point of payment the exact terms and conditions for the sale of goods, including any additional costs for delivery, warranty and returns of the goods.

In the case of distance selling a date when the consumer’s account will be debited must be given.

If goods are not in stock at the time of the order, seller must notify the consumer of the expected delivery date.

BRBN members should use their best resources to maintain the correct information to consumers regarding goods "in stock". Members must not take orders for out of stock items unless the consumer has been made aware of the situation and given an indication as to when the goods will be available for delivery.

BRBN member should provide consumers with a receipt of purchase, which can be sent to the consumer via e-mail or through post. Consumers are to be advised to keep such documentary evidence and if possible, to produce it when asked for by the business in the future.

BRBN members should ensure that the goods stocked are manufactured to the relevant safety standards.

Guarantee

BRBN members should make guarantee on a product clear and any restrictions or exceptions should be mentioned to the consumer.

Details of any warranty or guarantee, including any geographical restrictions, must be available in clear.

The guarantee might not apply in the following respects:

Damage or faults caused by consumer misuse, negligence or failure to adhere to the manufacturer instructions.

Certain goods and parts that may have a limited life span

Identified poor quality signal reception

Damage caused by Acts of God

Repair by non-professional technician

Repairs and Servicing

BRBN members should provide complete information about repairs and servicing available for offered products.

BRBN members should make clear to the consumer the exact terms of the contract for any repairs or servicing work to be carried out.

If any premium rate numbers are used for dedicated help lines or service telephone line numbers, the consumers must be notified clearly about the charges they will incur.

These terms and conditions should also be quoted to consumers requesting service/repair work by telephone. A note should be made of the date, time, name and address and telephone number of the customer.

Customer Payments

BRBN members should provide enough information about the online transaction so that customers can make an informed decision.

If the BRBN member chooses to provide some information in more than one language, all material information about the transaction should be available in the selected languages.

All members should make perfectly clear to consumers via their websites, brochures or telephone/fax at and before the point where payment details are to be entered or taken the following:

The business name and, if payment is required in advance, it’s postal address
A description of the goods or services
The price including all taxes
Delivery costs where they apply
Arrangements for payment
Arrangements and date for delivery of goods
The right to cancel the order
How long the offer or the price remains valid
The cost of any premium rate telephone, fax or Internet charges
Stock information
The consumer must be informed of the cost of returning any substitute goods.

BRBN members should also disclose information like:

Any restrictions or limitations (for example, time or geographic location) imposed on the sale of the goods or services.
Easy to use payment system.
Information on how to cancel a transaction.
For products, any warrantees and guarantees
For services, any material standards, schedules, fees, or other offered terms, including limitation and conditions.
Terms of transaction,
Product availability
Shipping information
Total price and customer cost
Delivery costs

And should provide the customer with an opportunity to:
Review and approve the transaction and
Receive a confirmation.

For ongoing transactions or subscriptions:
Information on how the transaction will appear on the bill so that the customer can easily identify the business and the transaction on the bill.
Easy-to-understand cancellation information, an easy to use method to cancel an ongoing subscription, and timely confirmation of such cancellation.

Delivery

BRBN members should:
Provide exact cost of delivery
Give the customer expected date of delivery
In case of a delay in delivery, provide the customer with timely information about the delay and the opportunity to cancel the transaction.
If products are not in stock, provide information about when the customer will be charged for the transaction
If possible, provide product availability information based on good information.
Have a reasonable basis for, and provide customers with, estimated delivery times.
BRBN members should have a reasonable basis for stated delivery claims when made.
Disclose any shipping or delivery limitations

Pricing

All goods to be sold or services offered should have a clear indication of the price at which they are offered for sale.

There should not be any hidden charges on the goods or services and all the prices should clearly be available to the customer prior or at the time of ordering.

BRBN members should at all times do everything possible to ensure that any customers who may have been charged too high a price arising from an error either at the business premises, shop or distance selling method should have any excess charges refunded.

If BRBN members make a surcharge when accepting payment by credit or debit card, details of the surcharge must be made known to the consumer at and before the point where card details are taken.

Disclose an itemised list of the prices or fees and expected customer costs to be collected by the member business with regard to an online transaction, including but not limited to:

Price or license fee to be charged of the ordered goods or services

Expected shipping and handling charges (if such charges are unknown at the time of the online transaction, information should be provided through an e-mail, post or telephone and provide the customer with an opportunity to cancel the transaction if the costs are unacceptable)

Expected taxes or other government fees collected by the business related to the transaction

Information on any future ongoing costs that may be incurred by the customer

Clearly identify the business’ name and website address on bank or credit card statements or other billing information.

Discounts

If selling online or by any distance selling method, the business must inform consumers of how long any discounts or sale prices remain valid.

All discounts must be genuine, compared to the original sale price or RRP.

Where a discount or price reduction is offered, BRBN members should ensure that it is clearly identified and easily verified by the consumer.

BRBN member shall at no time attempt to confuse or mislead the consumer or falsely describe any of the goods offered for sale.

Distance selling operations must inform consumers of how long any discounts or price reductions remain valid.

Order Review

Before an online transaction is completed, BRBN members should provide customers with the option to review the online transaction and to confirm customers’ intention to continue the transaction.

Member businesses should also include a summary, which should contain:

Detailed information about the online transaction.
Payment method chosen for paying for goods or services
Option to cancel or affirmatively complete the transaction.
Information about the products or services
Total amount payable

Sales Confirmation

BRBN members should provide customers with the option to receive a confirmation of the transaction.

The confirmation should include:

A detailed statement of items ordered
The price
Any other known charges such as shipping / handling fee or taxes
Adequate contact information to enable customers to obtain any updates on delivery
Expected date of delivery

Refunds

Although BRBN members are under no obligation (subject to the provisions of the Hire Purchase Acts and the Consumer Credit Act) to refund payments when a consumer has changed his mind or simply does not like the goods, BRBN members may offer a full refund at their discretion.

If goods ordered cannot be returned or exchanged, this information must be passed to the customer and customer’s clear consent should be obtained before the order is placed and payment is made.

BRBN members should have Returns or Refund policies, with information on how customers can make returns or exchanges obtain refunds or credits

BRBN members must provide clear details about their terms and conditions for returning goods and in plain language.

Members must also provide clear information with regards to the procedures for the return of goods.

Deposits

Any member who accepts an advance payment or deposit for goods shall indicate that consumers’ accounts will be debited in advance of receipt of goods.

BRBN members should stipulate the period during which the delivery of the goods will be made to the consumer. If goods are not delivered within this period then BRBN member shall offer the consumer the option of a full refund or to accept a different shipping date.

BRBN members may charge customer accounts as a form of deposit, only after the customer has given clear conformity to do so.

In case a customer fails to pay the balance of purchased goods, the business might have the legal right to retain the deposit, if it was made clear to the customer at the time of paying the deposit.

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Privacy Policy

All members should post and adhere to a privacy policy based on fair information principles

The members should have a policy that is open, transparent, and meets generally accepted fair information principles

Customers should be able to access the privacy policy easily and understand the terms in it.

Member businesses should adopt information practices that treat customers’ personal information with care.

Site privacy policies should be easy to find and clearly, simply stated.

Sites should clearly disclose how personal data from site visitors and customers will be used. Personal data includes name, address, phone number and credit card number.

Sites should disclose whether they use browser-tracking mechanisms such as "cookies," and other technologies such as Web beacons, bugs and robots.

Sites should explain how data collected from them will be used.

Sites should notify customers of changes to privacy policies, and provide an easy opt-out alternative.

Members should also take appropriate measures to provide adequate security

Member businesses should use appropriate levels of security for the type of information collected, maintained, or transferred to third parties and should:

Provide industry standard levels of security and integrity to protect data

Member businesses that engage in email marketing should give customers to opt out to receive marketing material

Customer Services

Sites engaged in consumer transactions should clearly disclose relevant financial relationships with other sites, particularly when these relationships affect the cost to a consumer.

Sites should clearly disclose all fees charged, including service, transaction and handling fees, and shipping costs. This information should be disclosed before the ordering process begins.

Sites should clearly state and enforce policies for returning unwanted items or canceling transactions or reservations.

Customer Satisfaction

BRBN members should provide an easy-to-find and understand notice of how customers can successfully contact the business with any questions.

BRBN members should promptly respond to the customer’s questions.

BRBN members should seek to ensure, all the customers are satisfied by honouring their representations, answering queries, ensuring customer satisfaction, and resolving any customer complaints and disputes in a timely and responsive manner.

BRBN members should comply with all commitments, representations, and other promises made to a customer.

BRBN members should endeavour to resolve any customer complaints in a fair, timely, and effective way.

In case that the customer is not satisfied BRBN members should have a complaints procedure in place to resolve any customer issues.

Error Correction

Sites should diligently seek to correct false, misleading or incorrect information.

Sites should prominently display a page or section of the site where incorrect information is corrected or clarified.

Sites should strive to mark content with its published date when failing to do so could mislead consumers.

Sites should clearly state their policy on a consumer's rights if a purchase is made based on incorrect information on the site.

Complaints

There is no doubt that the vast majority of sales and service calls are performed satisfactorily. However, situations will arise in a business, when either the consumer or BRBN member feels he has been unfairly treated either by the other party or by a supplier.

Consumers with a complaint should always be encouraged to return the goods to BRBN member/ service company where BRBN member/service company should examine the matter speedily, sympathetically, with customer understanding and must take decisive action if justification is established.

Disputes are usually local matters and consumers who are dissatisfied with BRBN member can be referred to the local Trading Standards Office, consumer Advice Centre or Citizens' Advice Bureau throughout the United Kingdom. Each consumer or supplier, however, shall also have the right to apply in writing for assistance to BRBN Complaints Handling Dept.

British Reliable Business Network does not force any decision on its members.

BRBN members shall have an effective and easy to use internal mechanism for addressing complaints and correcting errors.

In the event the customer’s complaint cannot be resolved, BRBN members shall also offer a fair method for resolving differences with regard to a transaction by offering either an unconditional money back guarantee or a third-party dispute resolution.

The objective of the BRBN Complaints Handling Service is to provide prompt and informal information where BRBN member and the consumer cannot resolve their dispute.

The consumer should indicate the nature of the complaint in writing by e-mail, fax, or letter in the first instance, to BRBN giving full details of the complaint or complete an online complaint form to report any problems with a BRBN Member. Once all the complaints have been verified with the involved business BRBN makes all complaints against a business available online on its website.

If BRBN staff is unable to resolve the complaint it may be referred to Trading Standards or Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

BRBN does not provide arbitration services for any complaints it handles. We simply try to resolve the issue between the business and consumer by trying to reach a mutually agreeable decision. Any complaints about a business are recorded in BRBN’s database and annual report. These complaints are readily available for any BRBN members online. The complaints database with details of the issue and current status is clearly provided. This provides a fair view of a business’ dealings with the public and an overall view of business performance.

The use of Courts

If a business is unable to resolve the complaint then the consumer can, of course, at any stage pursue his normal statutory rights and seek a decision from the County Courts in England and Wales or the Sheriff Court in Scotland. In the United Kingdom, the simple arbitration procedure available in the County may be suitable for settling the dispute if the consumer is not satisfied with action of BRBN’s Panel or the supplier.

Monitoring

The British Reliable Business Network will monitor its member businesses for compliance of the Code of Practice.