I was doing a very quick stop at Dorothy Perkins for easy tops. The very helpful sales executive said that she would be able to give me a 10% off when my bill totalled more than S$100. She said I'd be eligible for their membership/privilge card and passed a form for me to fill up.
I didn't like what I see in that form. The application form requested identity card numbers, income, occupation, address, contact numbers, etc. The terms and conditions stated,
"I understand and agree that personal and other information about me, including my use of the card, will be collected on behalf of Wing Tai Clothing and may be disclosed to Wing Tai Clothing and Programme Partners for the administration of the programme and for researching, promoting and marketing goods or services of Wing Tai Clothing or the Programme Partners. I also authorise Wing Tai Clothing and the Programme Partners to use my details to check or enhance information held on their consumer database and to disclose this database to third parties for marketing purposes. I have read and agreed to the above. I acknowledge that by signing this enrolment form I accpet and agree to be bound by the Fashion Fast Forward Programme Cardholder Terms and Conditions."
I wasn't at all comfortable with the tone of the paragraph. Those conditions that I would have to agree to weren't in my favor. So I told the cashier to rescind the 10% discount and I'd pay my bill in full. The earnest sales executive was troubled and asked why. I told them. She didn't get it at all. She said the card wasn't just applicable at Dorothy Perkins, I could use it at Topshop and dunno where else. That's really not the point isn't it?
It was the same issue the other time with the FJ Benjamin discount card for Liz Claiborne, Levi's and dunno whatelse.
So nope. Since I didn't agree with the conditions of membership, I didn't bother to sign up for the card. For a measly 10% discount at the stalls, my personal details are at the retailers' mercy. No thanks. The long and short of it, I don't own any of these discount cards.
I cannot say this often enough. I hate it that Singapore doesn't have privacy laws to cover all aspects. On merchants, while they are allowed to request for certain personal information, there should be a law governing what they do with these details. There isn't just integrity involved.
I don't trust merchants to have the integrity to keep my personal details confidential like it should be. They release their membership databases to third parties. By that, I don't mean their advertising firms or public relations agencies. If you interpret it strictly, "to disclose this database to third parties for marketing purposes" could also mean selling it to another commercial entity or otherwise.
13 comments:
wow, u typed out the entire TnC?!?
u know wat they say, "stay off the grid!" <^;^>
Take the discount, fill in fake details. Done.
Or better yet, let me send you a list of phone numbers of recalcitrant insurance agents who just don't seem to understand DO NOT CALL. Just pick one and fill it in the contact number field.
cavalock: yah lor. it pissed me off enough to type it all out.
JM: i can't be bothered to do that even! OH. hahaha. yea, it'd be nice to have them on the receiving end of these calls!
while i usually don't really read the TnC (i know it's bad), but i'll always ask to leave out my email, and tel, while i put zero for occupation and pay. if they insist that those are compulsory, then i won't apply too. as for privacy laws go, it's so much worse at where i am now! ABSOLUTELY no privacy and anybody could just make a call or a click on the internet to get all the important information (not just contact info) about me here! i get a min of 2 marketing calls EVERY weekday on my home phone that i no longer pick it up. harassment. so i only use the home phone to call out now.
D
ya, don't bother. enough of nuisance calls as it is.
but these high end companies should know better than that. very off-putting.
I made the mistake of not specifying that charities should not sell my information. I realised when I started getting more and more requests from charities that my information was being passed around.
d: clever you are! but yes, those phone calls r annoying. grrr.
tuti: exactly. they think they can just pull the wool over the average consumer who wouldn't read t & cs.
dawn: see. i had a big fight with charities that way too.
i don't own any retailer's discount card either. for the same reasons. come to think of it, i don't shop with them much either.
"to disclose this database to third parties for marketing purposes". Yikes! I hate marketing calls & hate hate insurance agents!
yes, dawn, especially with charities. i had endless calls from them after i did a small donation to one of them. scary. not encouraging. makes people steer clear of them.
sinlady: good practice. keep it up. then you get less annoying cold calls. i told aia to EMAIL me the info. i want to read fine print. she asked if she could call me back. naturally, i didn't pick up the call. but if she had emailed me, i'd have signed up for what she offered coz it was a good one. heh. too bad.
ice: i hate them too. most of the times, the marketers no speakeath english, or no understand my instructions to send via email because i like to read black and white, not talk over the phone! i don't even talk to my friends over the phone! what makes these telemarketeers think i'd want to talk to them??!
tuti: eeps. for your kindess and you get a barrage of phone calls. EIOOW. so rude these people.
Totally ridiculous for retailers to use T&Cs as quoted to sell our personal particulars ! We are not obliged to follow these clauses at all..like others, using fake details will be the best option, if not I'll scribble question marks and jot doctors' handwriting on the forms haha..Nicompoops retailers thought that 70% of us are gullible or illiterate enuff to read fine prints..they've found the wrong targets ald and CASE should really do something about it as well !
mochalatte: it is annoying. unfortunately, there isn't much CASE can do as the law isn't on their side.
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