New control points following consultation with the ACM

Written by Marcel Landeweerd on February 14, 2017

It probably hasn't escaped your notice: in recent months the ACM has handed outsubstantial fines to webshops that broke the rules. Reason for us to sit down with the ACM and ask them what issues they consider important.In a personal conversation we talked about the fines. The ACM rightly indicated that they already announced in 2014to act against incomplete and untimely refunds by fashion web stores, in 2015warningswere issued to this end, among others,to web stores that violated the rules. The fines issued recently did not come out of the blue. Even though most webshop owners did not see the storm coming. Unfortunately, the ACM cannot announce whether more fines will follow in the near future. The most important point that we have often written about remains the cooling-off period and correctly informing the customer about this right.In this regard, however, there were few new cases, since this is already an important control point during our inspection. However, mistakes are still being made in this area by many online stores. We recommend that you read the regulations on this point carefully. Knowing the rules in that area is really a must as a merchant. Even more important than the general conditions, the ACM findsthe provision of information on the website. On that point we completely agree with the ACM. The ACM has acted on this before.In 2010,for example,several ticket websiteswere imposed a penalty of 5,000 per week rising to 100,000 for not complying with information requirements. Also the fines to webshops that have been handed out this year are largely based on not (correctly) informing consumers. Simply stating the rules in your terms and conditions is NOT enough. You need to state important matters such as the cooling-off period, warranty and your complaints procedure clearly and in easily findable places. We will gladly help you withour sample texts.

New inspection points

In addition to the cooling-off period andother points that we already check, including rules regarding guarantees, the correct listing of prices and making contact information clearly findable, a number of issues came to light on which we have also adjusted our inspection.

Separate pages for important information

The ACM indicated that it is important that information is easy to find, for example with one click. The easiest solution to achieve this is to make things like return information and contact details available on their own separate page. These pages should be directly accessible from anywhere on the website (from your menu or footer), including the shopping cart. A frequently asked questions or customer service page where you put all the information is unfortunately no longer sufficient. We explain below which pages you all need to create. We have alsoworked out an example of the content of these pages for you. You can easily copy and use these examples.

Separate returns page

This page contains all information related to returns. This includes, for example,the text explaining that returns are possible(and when they are not). You can also refer here tothe model withdrawal form. Things you have to mention at least are: - When is a return possible - When is a return not possible - How can the customer indicate that he wants to return - What period does the customer have to notify the return and how long to actually return it - Does the customer have to pay the costs for the return shipment? - Within what time limit do you refund the customer - That the customer is refunded with the same means of payment he/she paid with (e.g., do not issue a credit note upon return when the customer paid with cash) - What costs are refunded upon return? Most of these things are all regulated by law. You may never impose stricter requirements on the customer than the law, but you may impose more lenient requirements. For example, the customer has legally up to 14 days after the day of receipt of the product to report the return and then another 14 days to return. As a webshop, you may not make this 10 days, but rather 30. We advise you to use our sample texts to make sure your explanation complies with the law.

Separate page warranty & complaints

On this page you explain how you deal with warranty. You also explain on this page how complaints can be made known. Indicate that if the consumer does not come to an agreement with you, he can also submit his complaint to WebwinkelKeur (when you are a member) and also refer to the European ODR platform. Again, there are of course standard texts available.

Separate page shipping & shipping costs

Explain on this page which shipping methods you offer and what the costs are.

Separate contact page

Mention your contact information on the contact page, including the name of the company (as registered in the Chamber of Commerce), the address, telephone number, email, Chamber of Commerce number and VAT number.

Listing prices

The ACM indicated that they find it important that merchants always indicate in their prices whether they include or exclude shipping costs. In the offer itself, the shipping costs should be added to the product if these costs apply per product. If shipping costs apply per order, then the price on the product page should clearly state that it excludes shipping costs and how much the shipping costs are. We strongly recommend that on both your product page and your category page, you indicate on your prices that they do not include shipping costs and refer to the page with the amount of shipping costs. We will not reject this for the time being, because we know that displaying prices in this way is not yet possible within all web shop software. However, we will approach suppliers of web shop software to realize this option. Furthermore, it goes without saying that prices should include VAT when selling to consumers.

Pay afterwards

In addition to these information requirements, the ACM indicated that it attaches great importance to additional payment methods besides iDEAL. The ACM receives many complaints about online stores that do not deliver, often after iDEAL payment. They therefore find it important that an additional (secured) payment method is also offered. Moreover, offering a method where at least 50% can be paid afterwards is an obligation in the Netherlands. Therefore, we will stimulate this in the coming period. Especially for our members we have arranged a nice deal with AfterPay, members of Webwinkelkeur now pay a one-time free annual fee of EUR 99,- when registering before December 31, 2017. Also existing customers of AfterPay can benefit." [caption id="attachment_63550" align="aligncenter" width="637"] Achteraf betalen via AfterPay, met een mooie korting voor WebwinkelKeur leden

Achteraf betalen via AfterPay, met een mooie korting voor WebwinkelKeur leden

Pay afterwards via AfterPay, with a nice discount for WebwinkelKeur members[/caption]

Conclusion

Things often keep going wrong when it comes to reflection time and refunding all costs. This point we have dealt with many times and willcontinue to monitor strictly. New things we will pay attention to and check are listing information around returns, warranty, price indications (in- or ex shipping costs) and contact information onseparate pages. These pages should be available at a glance from any page. Finally, we are going to encourage post-payment more and will proactively inform our members about this. Whether there will be more fines from the ACM in the near future is not known. Irrespective of that, however, it is important to have your own website in good order, both legally and informatively.Of coursewe arehappyto help youwiththat.

Free re-inspection

We check all our members periodically. If there are points for improvement, you will automatically receive an e-mail with an explanation. Don't want to wait for this? Then feel free to contact us by e-mail and ask for a re-check. The first thing we would like to ask you to do is tocheck your store again using our checklist.