This page contains our full Code Of Practice.
If you want a simplified version of our guidelines, you should find the following pages useful:

Credit Card Security
Customer Service
Dispute Resolution
Frequently Asked Questions

Code Of Practice

Version 1.2 - 20/10/06 - Changes to the Code Of Practice will be published on this page as and when they are made

Before a retailer is given permission to display the "Safer Shopping Approved" logo on their site, they must make sure that their site complies with all of our guidelines. If their site doesn't meet our requirements then they are told what changes they need to make. Getting permission to display the logo isn't the end of things though, as we regularly check all "Safer Shopping Approved" sites to make sure that they stay within the rules.

General Site Requirements

1) Retailers must display contact details on their site. A telephone number is not required, however a postal address must be displayed somewhere on the site (A PO Box address is acceptable). An email address (or contact form) must also be displayed. Retailers must respond to enquiries within a reasonable period of time. If a retailer is temporarily unable to send/receive emails for technical reasons then they must take all possible steps to resolve those issues as quickly as possible.

2) If a retailer accepts payment by credit or debit card, they must do so on a secure server. This can either be a secure server of their own, or the secure sever of an approved payment processor such as Worldpay, Paypal, NOCHEX, 2checkout etc etc.

3) Retailers must display a "returns policy" on their site that explains clearly what will happen in the event of goods being unwanted, unsuitable or faulty. It must include the phrase "Your statutory rights are not affected"

4) Retailers must display a "privacy policy" on their site.

The Ordering Process

5) Customers must be made aware of the total cost of their order (including delivery costs and taxes) before they are asked to make a payment.

6) It must be clear what currency prices are being displayed in.

7) If a guarantee or warranty is offered, retailers must make it clear what is covered and for how long.

8) After an order has been placed, the retailer must send the customer confirmation of that order by email or post.

9) Orders must be delivered to the customer within 30 days of the order being received unless the customer has agreed otherwise.

10) Customer complaints must be dealt with swiftly, politely and fairly. In the event of the retailer and customer not being able to resolve the complaint, Safer Shopping will act as an unbiased mediator to try and help solve the problem. Our involvement is limited to advisory guidance only.

Conduct

11) Retailers must not send untargetted mass emails (spam). Marketing emails are allowed, so long as they comply with UK anti-spam laws. In particular, retailers may only contact existing customers (who haven't opted out from receiving marketing mails)and consumers who have asked to receive marketing emails. If selling products/services to other businesses then you may contact businesses that you feel may be interested in what you have to offer so long as you are individually choosing who you contact. In either case, you must give the recipients a chance to opt out of future mailings.

12) Retailers must not display the "Safer Shopping Approved" logo on their site until their application has been approved and they have been given permission to do so. Retailers must remove the "Safer Shopping Approved" logo from their site in the event of them leaving (or being asked to leave) the scheme.

13) If the retailer doesn't fully comply with our code of practice, or if we believe that there are an unacceptably high number of "retailer at fault" complaints or if we feel that a retailer has handled a dispute unsatisfactorily, we reserve the right to terminate their participation in the scheme without refund of any membership fees.

14) The fact that a site displays the "Safer Shopping Approved" logo does not mean that we necessarily recommend their products or services. It does mean that, to the best of our knowledge, the site complies with our guidelines. We are not associated with the websites that display our logo in any way other than in that we have inspected their site to ensure that it complies with our code of practise. In no event will SaferShopping.org be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, special or other consequential damages for any use of this website, any other hyperlinked website or any website displaying the "Safer Shopping Approved" logo including, without limitation, any lost profits, cases of dispute between vendor and purchaser, business interruption, loss of programs or other data on your information handling system or otherwise, even if we are expressly advised of the possibility of such damages. We firmly believe that so long as retailers comply with our guidelines, incidences of loss should be greatly minimised. In order to ensure that this is the case, we randomly inspect all "Safer Shopping Approved" sites on a regular basis and take enforcement action when appropriate.

The safershopping.org scheme is run and administered by:
Safer Shopping, AP686, 29480, Malaga, Spain
enquiries@safershopping.org - all emails are replied to within a maximum of 24 hours