week 4

Terms and Conditions

On reading the terms and conditions of HMV.com nothing stands out as being unreasonable or unusual. As you would expect from any sales website hmv.com clearly lets the customer know that HMV is liable for very little in the transaction between itself in the customer. Comparing HMV terms and conditions with its competition, Play.com, there are very few differences. The terms and conditions of play.com are easier to read and navigate. They have a lot more points than HMV but each point is quite simple and easy to understand. Play.com also has a point on data protection:

 

“Play.com will not pass on your personal or credit or debit card details to any third party except where an additional security check may be deemed necessary. We shall be entitled to process your data in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy”

HMV.com’s terms and conditions don’t seem to mention this but it is included in their Privacy Policy, which requires the opening of a different link. This is not a huge difficulty but play.com have made a point of bringing it to the attention of all customers who read the terms and conditions.

 

The returns policy of both sites reads very similar. Pretty much tells all customers that refunds will only be given when the goods have been received in the same condition as when they were sent. However Play.com reserves the right to make a 15% restocking charge for any goods which are not returned in mint condition or to refuse to accept such goods. This gives a little more room for damaged caused possibly by the currier services being used. HMV.com, according to their terms and conditions, will not accept these goods that aren’t in mint condition/condition they were dispatched and refund may be refused. All returns to HMV.com are at the customers own cost and risk. If orders are cancelled before goods have been processed, the amount debited from the account used to purchase the goods will be credited back to the same account ASAP or in any event within 30days of the cancellation date. Now, HMV and Play both have almost identical refund and return policies though in the event of a cancellation with HMV, you, the customer, must confirm notify HMV in writing. In the other hand cancellations made on play.com can be done so by email or by telephone, these two options are significantly easier that the sending of a letter. HMV.com processing their cancellations this way may infact be a little better for business as it may put some customers who were slightly disgruntled off returning their goods.

 

HMV.com follows strict security procedures when it comes to the storage and disclosure of information given to them by the customer when placing an order. This is to prevent unauthorized access or unlawful processing of the customers personal information. Customers information is kept confidential and stored on a secure server which is password protected and hidden from the outside world behind a firewall. HMV.com use encrypting software called SSL (secure socket layer) this is used to encrypt all of the customer’s personal information including credit card number and name and address. This means that the information the customer provides is converted into a code to be sent via the internet to HMV.coms storage where it is then decoded.

 

HMV.com uses cookies to keep track of customer’s visits to our web site. A cookie is a small file that can be stored by your web browser on your computer’s hard drive. HMV.com can use these cookies to recognize repeat users observing users behavior to compile aggregate data in order to improve the website for its customers. Cookies are used to deliver contents specific to your interest and to save your password so that you don’t have to re-enter it every time you visit HMV.com.

 

Cookies help to recognize when the customer next visits the website and note the advertisements displayed to them. This allows HMV.com to tailor the service provided to particular customer’s preferences.

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: cookies, hmv, play.com, terms and conditions