Wanted - One Can Of Worms To Be Opened - Oh Thanks Littlewoods
Discount Vouchers - they are great aren’t they.
How many of us search forums and voucher sites before making a purchase?
Well many vouchers used on sites are actually cribbed of other sites. This can lead to confusion as to who actually ‘owns’ the commission when an affiliate is involved (search for ‘Discount codes’ on A4u and you should see lots of threads).
It is another thing though when a voucher given in good faith to an individual or small amount of deserving people is propagated over the internet.
Littlewoods have just set a precedent by charging a group of customers for using a voucher, whom were not directly issued the voucher.
Littlewoods has angered internet bargain hunters by demanding that an online discount voucher be paid back to the UK retailer.
The £25-off voucher was meant for a small number of specific customers, but got widely distributed through chat rooms and consumer-saving websites.
Two months later, Littlewoods has asked those it says were not eligible for the promotion to pay back the cash.
It says that the terms attached to the offer means it is within its rights.
Read the full news item on the BBC News Site.
So what does this mean for the future?
Discount voucher sites will have to be careful as I don’t see it being too much of a stretch for affected companies to start legal proceedings against sites circulating vouchers.
There are loads of discount vouchers offered to affiliates, affiliates can often get exclusive vouchers by asking nicely, so should they have to start cribbing off other forums and sites?
Expect much debate and blogging over the next few days.
