Online marketing and consumer loyalty service provider The Affinion Group announced enhanced consumer protection policies, according to an Affinion press release. In cooperation with the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Affinion has analyzed and is in the process of revising their marketing procedures. Committed to consumer service, Affinion is ensuring that its consumers give clear and informed consent for online purchases, accompanied by easy-to-understand billing policies.
The Senate Commerce Committee expressed concerns about the current “free to pay” marketing procedure, which had been reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission. Addressing their concerns, Affinion has enacted new policies to strictly adhere to the regulations put forth by the FTC. These changes include
- Providing enhanced clear and conspicuous disclosure of all material terms of every offer in multiple locations throughout the offer.
- Ensuring the consumer is billed only after obtaining the express informed consent of the consumer both to be charged for the offered service and to be charged to the identified account.
- Requiring that the consumer gives — at a minimum — the last four digits of their account or credit card number for every online transaction involving pre-acquired account information and a free to pay conversion.
- Clearly indicating in all solicitations that the program is provided by the company.
Affinion is going beyond the requirements of the FTC to ensure customers are protected. These additional measures include:
- Displaying prominently the 1-800 customer service number which can be used for cancelations on every Affinion enrollment and confirmation page.
- Adding language to enrollment web pages that makes it even clearer to consumers that they are being invited to enroll in a club or program that is distinct from, and has distinct terms and conditions from, the offerings on our partners’ websites.
- Including the 1-800 customer service number which can be used for cancellations in each Affinion welcome email.
“Affinion is proud of its long-standing history of employing the best marketing practices in the industry and how our programs provide tremendous value for millions of consumers worldwide,” James Hart, Senior Vice President, Communications and Brand said. “While our marketing has always incorporated clear, prominent and unambiguous terms, we continually reevaluate our offers to make certain consumers are able to make fully informed decisions.”
“Affinion looks forward to continued dialogue with both the committee and our customers to ensure we remain the industry leader in both standards and quality,” Hart said.
Affinion Group is a global leader in providing comprehensive customer engagement and loyalty solutions that enhance or extend the relationship of millions of customers with many of the largest and most respected companies in the world. Affinion is the parent company of Trilegiant, another customer loyalty company. Affinion is currently under the leadership of CEO Nathaniel Lipman.
Source: Affinion Unveils Enhanced Online Marketing Standards (PR Newswire)