Price Comparisons Article #21 Price comparisons may be made two ways: a. between one's price and a former, future, or suggested price. b. between one's price and the price of a competitor's comparable product. In all price comparisons, the compared price against which the comparison is made should be fair and accurate. In each case of comparison to a former, suggested, or competitor's comparable product price, substantial sales should have been made at that price in the recent past. For comparisons with a future price, there should be a reasonable expectation that the new price will be charged in the foreseeable future. Guarantees Article #22 If a product or service is offered with a "guarantee," or a "warranty," either the terms and conditions should be set forth in full in the promotion, or the promotion should state how the consumer may obtain a copy. The guarantee should clearly state the name and address of the guarantor and the duration of the guarantee. Any requests for repair, replacement, or refund under the terms of a "guarantee" or "warranty" should be honored promptly. In an unqualified offer of refund, repair, or replacement, the customer's preference shall prevail. Special Use of Test or Survey Data Article #23 All test or survey data referred to in advertising should be competent and reliable as to source and methodology, and should support the specific claim for which it is cited. Advertising claims should not distort the test or survey results nor take them out of context. Testimonials and Endorsements Article #24 Testimonials and endorsements should be used only if they are: a. Authorized by the person quoted, b. Genuine and related to the experience of the person giving them, and c. Not taken out of context so as to distort the endorser's opinion or experience with the product. The Product Product Safety Article #25 Products should be safe in normal use and free of defects likely to cause injury. To that end, they should meet or exceed the current, recognized health and safety norms, and should be adequately tested, when applicable. Information provided with the product should include proper directions for its use and full instructions covering assembly and safety warnings, whenever necessary. Product Distribution Safety Article #26 Products should be distributed only in a manner that will provide reasonable safeguards against possibilities of injury. Product Availability Article #27 Direct marketers should offer merchandise only when it is on hand or when there is a reasonable expectation of its receipt. Direct marketers should not engage in dry testing, unless that special nature of the offer is disclosed in the promotion. Fulfillment Unordered Merchandise Merchandise should not be shipped without having first received the customer's permission. The exceptions are samples or gifts clearly marked as such, and merchandise mailed by a charitable organization soliciting contributions, as long as all items are sent with a clear and conspicuous statement informing the recipient of an unqualified right to treat the product as a gift and to do with it as the recipient sees fit, at no cost or obligation to the recipient. Shipments Direct marketers are reminded that they should abide by the FTC regulation regarding the prompt shipment of prepaid merchandise, the Mail Order Merchandise (Thirty-Day) Rule. Beyond this regulation, direct marketers are urged to ship all orders as soon as possible. Credit and Equal Credit Opportunity Article #30 A creditor should not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age. If an individual is rejected for credit, the creditor should be prepared to give reasons why. Debt Collection Unfair, misleading, deceptive or abusive methods should not be used for collecting money. The direct marketer should take reasonable steps to assure that those collecting on the direct market- · er's behalf comply with this guideline. Use of List Rental Practices Article #32 Consumers who provide data that may be rented, sold or exchanged for direct marketing purposes periodically should be informed of the potential for the rental, sale, or exchange of such data. Marketers should offer an opportunity to have a consumer's name deleted or suppressed upon request. List compilers should suppress names from lists when requested by the individual. For each list that is to be rented, sold, or exchanged, the DMA Mail Preference Service name-removal list and, when applicable, the DMA Telephone Preference Service nameremoval list should be used. Names found on such suppression lists should not be rented, sold, or exchanged, except for suppression purposes. All persons involved in the rental, sale, or exchange of lists and data should take reasonable steps to ensure that industry members follow these guidelines. Personal Information Article #33 Direct marketers should be sensitive to the issue of consumer privacy and should limit the combination, collection, rental, sale, exchange and use of consumer data to only those data which are appropriate for direct marketing purposes. Information and selection criteria that may be considered to be personal and intimate in nature by all reasonable standards should not provide the basis for lists made available for rental, sale, or exchange when there is a reasonable expectation by the consumer that the information will be kept confidential. Any advertising or promotion for lists being offered for rental, sale, or exchange should reflect the fact that a list is an aggregate collection of marketing data. Such promotions should also reflect a sensitivity for the consumers on those lists. List Usage Agreements Article #34 List owners, brokers, compilers, and users should make every attempt to establish the exact nature of the list's intended usage prior to the sale or rental of the list. Owners, brokers, and compilers should not permit the sale or rental of their lists for an offer that is in violation of any of the Ethical Guidelines of DMA. Promotions should be directed to those segments of the public most likely to be interested in their causes or to have a use for their products or services. List Abuse Article #35 No list or list data should be used in violation of the lawful rights of the list owner nor the agreement between the parties; any such misuse should be brought to the attention of the lawful owner. Telephone Marketing (See also Articles #9 and #29) Reasonable Hours Article #36 All telephone contacts should be made during reasonable hours. Taping of Conversations Article #37 Taping of telephone conversations made for telephone marketing purposes should not be conducted without legal notice to or consent of all parties, or the use of a beeping device. |