The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accepted court enforceable undertakings from Loyalty Pacific Pty Ltd, operator of the Fly Buys loyalty scheme, as a result of a bonus points promotion conducted in mid-2000.
The promotion offered some Fly Buys members 2000 bonus points for shopping at Shell and Best Western. The ACCC was concerned that the promotion was misleading as it was not clear, as intended by Loyalty Pacific, that expenditure was required at both Shell and Best Western to qualify for the award of the bonus points. Loyalty Pacific acknowledged that the terms and conditions of the promotion were ambiguous.
To address the ACCC's concerns, Loyalty Pacific has agreed to credit the affected Fly Buys members it has identified with the 2000 bonus points. This will result in at least 34 000 members being credited with the bonus points valued in total at approximately $700,000.
Acting ACCC Chairman Mr Rod Shogren noted that Loyalty Pacific had moved quickly to resolve the ACCC's concerns and also noted that this outcome demonstrates that companies need to take care when formulating the terms and conditions of any promotional activity to ensure that consumers are not misled.