This turned into a long post, but after years of reading posts in GB&U complaining about sellers, especially some in the Hall of Shame, the 30 day rule has never been mentioned so hopefully you will find it of some interest. Just passing on some consumer information...not a lawyer...not legal advice...just "been there done that".
So, some thoughts, have sellers made and not kept shipping promises to you? Have sellers forced you to beg for order status information or failed to send refunds? If so they may be violating the Mail Order Rule and if it was in the last three years you can still get the attention of the FTC.
This is how a Federal Trade Commission Complaint usually reads.....does it describe any sellers you may have had problems with in the last three years?
According to the Commission's complaint, the defendants violated the FTC's Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule over a two-and-a-half year period in numerous transactions by making unsubstantiated shipment representations and failing to provide timely and complete delay notices to consumers. The defendants allegedly failed to keep records demonstrating Rule compliance, including inventory records and records relating to shipment. When shipment delays occurred, they often failed to notify consumers of the delay. In the instances in which they did notify consumers of delays, the FTC alleges, the notices failed to include a revised shipment date or the statement that the consumers could cancel and obtain prompt, full refunds, as required by the Rule.
http://www.keytlaw.com/FTC/Actions/ftc011220.htm
You can complain to the BBB and all but at the same time consider complaining to the FTC who has some serious teeth to force business practice changes.
Merchants who violate the Rule can be sued by the FTC for injunctive relief, monetary civil penalties of up to $16,000 per violation (any time during the five years preceding the filing of the complaint), and consumer redress (any time during the three years preceding the filing of the complaint).
In reality, I think after a warning the FTC opens with a fine of something like $2,500 per violation. That is a very big deal for most sellers even if they have been violating the rule a few times a month for a couple of years. In addition the burden of proof is on the business, if they did not keep customer service file notes, ordering, receiving, or shipping information too bad for them.
Here is where you go to file a complaint:
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
The Mail Order Rule has been around for some time but the FTC shocked a number of companies ten years ago by prosecuting under the rule for Internet Sales violations. It applies to all sellers, not just Macys or Toys-R-Us.
Here are some abbreviated cut and paste clips about the law and link to the FTC site. There is a little past history at he end. Remember when reading this it is directed as advice to business owners and you means the business.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus02.shtm
A Business Guide to the Federal Trade Commissions
MAIL OR TELEPHONE ORDER MERCHANDISE RULE
What is the Mail or Telephone Order Rule?
The Rule requires that when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days. That is why direct marketers sometimes call this the "30-day Rule."
If, after taking the customers order, you learn that you cannot ship within the time you stated or within 30 days, you must seek the customers consent to the delayed shipment. If you cannot obtain the customers consent to the delay -- either because it is not a situation in which you are permitted to treat the customers silence as consent and the customer has not expressly consented to the delay, or because the customer has expressly refused to consent -- you must, without being asked, promptly refund all the money the customer paid you for the unshipped merchandise.
What a First Delay Option Notice Must Say
a definite revised shipment date or, if unknown, a statement that you are unable to provide a revised shipment date;
What Later Notices Must Say
a new definite revised shipment date or, if unknown, a statement that you are unable to provide any date;
a statement that, unless you receive notice that the customer agrees to wait beyond the most recent definite revised shipment date and you have not shipped by then, the customers order automatically will be cancelled and a prompt refund will be provided;
When You Must Cancel an Order
the customer exercises any option to cancel before you ship the merchandise;
the customer does not respond to your first notice of a definite revised shipment date of 30 days or less and you have not shipped the merchandise or received the customers consent to a further delay by the definite revised shipment date;
you have not shipped or provided the required delay or renewed option notices on time
Why You Should Keep Records
Although you are not required to keep records.........you bear the burden of proving you do comply. Your documentation should provide answers to the following questions.
Substantiation for shipment representations. How is demand anticipated? How is inventory monitored?
Fulfillment system. How is the fulfillment system designed to meet the requirements of the Rule?
Recordkeeping... Are adequate records kept for each individual
The statute of limitations on actions to enforce the Rule is three years for consumer redress and five years for civil penalties.
Using a Fulfillment House or Drop-Shipper
Q: Who is liable for Rule violations caused by a fulfillment house or drop shipper?
A: The seller is. This is because the person soliciting the order, not the agent fulfilling it, is the seller under the Rule. The person soliciting the order can control -- among other things -- the shipment representations made in soliciting the sale and the choice of fulfillment houses. The seller can adjust the shipment representations to include the time needed to transmit orders to a fulfillment house and for the fulfillment house to respond.
However, staff considers the following circumstances when deciding whether to recommend an enforcement action:
1. whether the merchant made all reasonable efforts to prevent violations, including, e.g.,
contracting with the fulfillment house to require it to comply with the Rule (or, at least, require it to promptly inform the merchant of any problems that could involve the Rule);
"seeding" orders with the fulfillment house to monitor its fulfillment time; and
monitoring customer complaints for unusual surges.
2. whether the violations were genuinely unforeseeable and beyond the merchants control to prevent;
3. whether the merchant, from all objective circumstances, did not know and did not have reason to know of the violations when they occurred; and,
4. whether the merchant promptly took all reasonable steps to remedy the fulfillment, notification, or refund systems failures as soon as it discovered them, and to remedy any resulting customer injury.
THE MAIL ORDER RULE
14. The Mail Order Rule was promulgated by the Commission on October 22, 1975, under the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 41 et seq., and became effective February 2, 1976. The Commission amended the Rule on September 21, 1993, under Section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a, and these amendments became effective on March 1, 1994. The Rule applies to orders placed by telephone, facsimile transmission, or on the Internet.
Some past history that was a "wake up call" for many, many Web based sellers.
Staples, Inc. to Pay $850,000 Penalty For Alleged Mail Order Rule Violations
FTC Complaint Charges Office Supply Company Misled Consumers and Businesses About "Real Time" Inventory Availability, Misrepresented Delivery Times on its Web Site
Laura Fremont and Kerry O'Brien
FTC Western Region, San Francisco
415-848-5100
In numerous instances during October through December l999, defendants failed to ship merchandise within the stated time, and either failed to send delay notices to consumers or sent notices that were deficient and/or failed to provide a revised shipping date to the consumer.
Beanie Babies Official Club ("BBOC") and related products, has agreed to pay $216,000 in civil penalties for failure to make timely deliveries or prompt refunds in the sale of its "Clubby" Beanie Baby®.
Dell Computer Corporation, the country's largest direct seller of personal computers, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the FTC's Mail Order Rule when it advertised and sold a "Dell Dimension" computer system bundled with a package of third-party software that was not ready to be shipped. The company, which is based in Round Rock, Texas, has agreed to pay an $800,000 civil penalty -- the largest penalty ever paid by a single defendant for a violation of the Rule.
Macys $350,000
In July, Toysrus.com was one of seven retailers that settled with the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing to ensure that they will not get backed up during this year's holiday rush. The FTC had charged that the companies violated the Mail and Telephone Order Rule by failing to notify customers when shipments fell behind, and by promising delivery dates they could not meet. Toysrus.com agreed to pay $350,000 in penalties.
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/orgdirectory.pdf
So, some thoughts, have sellers made and not kept shipping promises to you? Have sellers forced you to beg for order status information or failed to send refunds? If so they may be violating the Mail Order Rule and if it was in the last three years you can still get the attention of the FTC.
This is how a Federal Trade Commission Complaint usually reads.....does it describe any sellers you may have had problems with in the last three years?
According to the Commission's complaint, the defendants violated the FTC's Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule over a two-and-a-half year period in numerous transactions by making unsubstantiated shipment representations and failing to provide timely and complete delay notices to consumers. The defendants allegedly failed to keep records demonstrating Rule compliance, including inventory records and records relating to shipment. When shipment delays occurred, they often failed to notify consumers of the delay. In the instances in which they did notify consumers of delays, the FTC alleges, the notices failed to include a revised shipment date or the statement that the consumers could cancel and obtain prompt, full refunds, as required by the Rule.
http://www.keytlaw.com/FTC/Actions/ftc011220.htm
You can complain to the BBB and all but at the same time consider complaining to the FTC who has some serious teeth to force business practice changes.
Merchants who violate the Rule can be sued by the FTC for injunctive relief, monetary civil penalties of up to $16,000 per violation (any time during the five years preceding the filing of the complaint), and consumer redress (any time during the three years preceding the filing of the complaint).
In reality, I think after a warning the FTC opens with a fine of something like $2,500 per violation. That is a very big deal for most sellers even if they have been violating the rule a few times a month for a couple of years. In addition the burden of proof is on the business, if they did not keep customer service file notes, ordering, receiving, or shipping information too bad for them.
Here is where you go to file a complaint:
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
The Mail Order Rule has been around for some time but the FTC shocked a number of companies ten years ago by prosecuting under the rule for Internet Sales violations. It applies to all sellers, not just Macys or Toys-R-Us.
Here are some abbreviated cut and paste clips about the law and link to the FTC site. There is a little past history at he end. Remember when reading this it is directed as advice to business owners and you means the business.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus02.shtm
A Business Guide to the Federal Trade Commissions
MAIL OR TELEPHONE ORDER MERCHANDISE RULE
What is the Mail or Telephone Order Rule?
The Rule requires that when you advertise merchandise, you must have a reasonable basis for stating or implying that you can ship within a certain time. If you make no shipment statement, you must have a reasonable basis for believing that you can ship within 30 days. That is why direct marketers sometimes call this the "30-day Rule."
If, after taking the customers order, you learn that you cannot ship within the time you stated or within 30 days, you must seek the customers consent to the delayed shipment. If you cannot obtain the customers consent to the delay -- either because it is not a situation in which you are permitted to treat the customers silence as consent and the customer has not expressly consented to the delay, or because the customer has expressly refused to consent -- you must, without being asked, promptly refund all the money the customer paid you for the unshipped merchandise.
What a First Delay Option Notice Must Say
a definite revised shipment date or, if unknown, a statement that you are unable to provide a revised shipment date;
What Later Notices Must Say
a new definite revised shipment date or, if unknown, a statement that you are unable to provide any date;
a statement that, unless you receive notice that the customer agrees to wait beyond the most recent definite revised shipment date and you have not shipped by then, the customers order automatically will be cancelled and a prompt refund will be provided;
When You Must Cancel an Order
the customer exercises any option to cancel before you ship the merchandise;
the customer does not respond to your first notice of a definite revised shipment date of 30 days or less and you have not shipped the merchandise or received the customers consent to a further delay by the definite revised shipment date;
you have not shipped or provided the required delay or renewed option notices on time
Why You Should Keep Records
Although you are not required to keep records.........you bear the burden of proving you do comply. Your documentation should provide answers to the following questions.
Substantiation for shipment representations. How is demand anticipated? How is inventory monitored?
Fulfillment system. How is the fulfillment system designed to meet the requirements of the Rule?
Recordkeeping... Are adequate records kept for each individual
The statute of limitations on actions to enforce the Rule is three years for consumer redress and five years for civil penalties.
Using a Fulfillment House or Drop-Shipper
Q: Who is liable for Rule violations caused by a fulfillment house or drop shipper?
A: The seller is. This is because the person soliciting the order, not the agent fulfilling it, is the seller under the Rule. The person soliciting the order can control -- among other things -- the shipment representations made in soliciting the sale and the choice of fulfillment houses. The seller can adjust the shipment representations to include the time needed to transmit orders to a fulfillment house and for the fulfillment house to respond.
However, staff considers the following circumstances when deciding whether to recommend an enforcement action:
1. whether the merchant made all reasonable efforts to prevent violations, including, e.g.,
contracting with the fulfillment house to require it to comply with the Rule (or, at least, require it to promptly inform the merchant of any problems that could involve the Rule);
"seeding" orders with the fulfillment house to monitor its fulfillment time; and
monitoring customer complaints for unusual surges.
2. whether the violations were genuinely unforeseeable and beyond the merchants control to prevent;
3. whether the merchant, from all objective circumstances, did not know and did not have reason to know of the violations when they occurred; and,
4. whether the merchant promptly took all reasonable steps to remedy the fulfillment, notification, or refund systems failures as soon as it discovered them, and to remedy any resulting customer injury.
THE MAIL ORDER RULE
14. The Mail Order Rule was promulgated by the Commission on October 22, 1975, under the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 41 et seq., and became effective February 2, 1976. The Commission amended the Rule on September 21, 1993, under Section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a, and these amendments became effective on March 1, 1994. The Rule applies to orders placed by telephone, facsimile transmission, or on the Internet.
Some past history that was a "wake up call" for many, many Web based sellers.
Staples, Inc. to Pay $850,000 Penalty For Alleged Mail Order Rule Violations
FTC Complaint Charges Office Supply Company Misled Consumers and Businesses About "Real Time" Inventory Availability, Misrepresented Delivery Times on its Web Site
Laura Fremont and Kerry O'Brien
FTC Western Region, San Francisco
415-848-5100
In numerous instances during October through December l999, defendants failed to ship merchandise within the stated time, and either failed to send delay notices to consumers or sent notices that were deficient and/or failed to provide a revised shipping date to the consumer.
Beanie Babies Official Club ("BBOC") and related products, has agreed to pay $216,000 in civil penalties for failure to make timely deliveries or prompt refunds in the sale of its "Clubby" Beanie Baby®.
Dell Computer Corporation, the country's largest direct seller of personal computers, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the FTC's Mail Order Rule when it advertised and sold a "Dell Dimension" computer system bundled with a package of third-party software that was not ready to be shipped. The company, which is based in Round Rock, Texas, has agreed to pay an $800,000 civil penalty -- the largest penalty ever paid by a single defendant for a violation of the Rule.
Macys $350,000
In July, Toysrus.com was one of seven retailers that settled with the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing to ensure that they will not get backed up during this year's holiday rush. The FTC had charged that the companies violated the Mail and Telephone Order Rule by failing to notify customers when shipments fell behind, and by promising delivery dates they could not meet. Toysrus.com agreed to pay $350,000 in penalties.
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/orgdirectory.pdf