Oi Listing and Advertising Policy

O&i LISTING AND ADVERTISING POLICY

Introduction

These policy guidelines apply to all business listing information, offers, posts, comments, job listings and reviews and to all forms of users, advertisers and listed businesses.

The website established by Offers & info Pty Ltd ACN 606 116 278 (Oi/O&i/we/us/our) operates as a digital business directory, providing an online platform enabling subscriber businesses to list, advertise, promote and update their information within a location and category search format. The directory integrates live posting and editing allowing listed businesses to quickly communicate and connect directly with the Oi audience.  Any potential subscribers, advertisers or other users considering using any of our services should refer to our Subscriber Terms and Conditions.

Transparency

All listing and advertising subscribers must provide true and factual detail when signing up and are strongly encouraged to only allow trustworthy associates to edit or update crucial or sensitive detail. It is the responsibility of all Oi listing and advertising subscribers to make sure that all detail provided (verbal, visual and written) is truthful, accurate, factually correct and not misleading or deceptive.

Oi wholly disapproves of the use of offensive, unlawful or false material within any of our website’s posts, advertising or business information pages. Without limiting any of our rights, any such material may be removed without prior consultation with the subscriber, advertiser or user responsible for placing such material on the website. We reserve the right to cancel or limit website access and/or functionality for any subscriber, advertiser or user engaging in any such conduct.  Where this occurs, we will not be liable or accountable to any such subscriber, advertiser or user in any way and no refunds of any fees or charges will be provided.

Digital Limitations

Listing and advertising subscribers must accept that in a digital environment, some limitations and functionality quirks are inevitable and can cause minor glitches to display from time to time, for example:

  • photo graining or blurring can be caused by over-zooming of photos being uploaded.
  • automated cropping can cause either or both vertical and horizontal portions of uploaded files to cut from final view.
  • device settings, manufacturers‘ technical settings, device screen sizes etc may all cause distorted or altered images.

Oi will use reasonable endeavours to update and maintain our website in order to optimise the experience for most mainstream devices.

Displaying Posts

Offers and posts are added to various “walls” upon posting and may also be emailed to users requesting updates from businesses they have chosen to follow. There is also a share link provided within posts. For these reasons it is very important to make sure offers or posts are published correctly, clearly and responsibly. Although Oi will provide the option to edit already-published offers and posts, the original post will always remain in prior view and may cause user confusion.  Accordingly, it is advisable to review and, where appropriate, edit all posts prior to posting.

Posting an Offer

When posting an offer that is subject to terms and conditions, the advertiser should either clearly state the terms and conditions within the displayed offer itself, or notify users that the offer is subject to terms and conditions and include an obvious functional link for access to those terms and conditions.

If the Offer being posted is subject to a fixed discount the “Discount Percentage” field should be filled in. If no fixed discount percentage applies to the offer this field should be filled with a “zero percentage discount” applied.

If we develop the view that a posted offer is not a genuine offer, we may (without obligation) remove the offer from the relevant homepage’s offer page, but may allow it to remain as a business info post instead.

Advertising practices – Oi encourages all subscribers and advertisers to familiarise themselves and comply fully with the Australian Consumer Law and relevant State fair trading laws, and to avail themselves of all guidance information provided by the ACCC and State Officer of Fair Trading.  Links to various helpful agencies and government sites are listed at the bottom of this page. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure that they adhere to all current law.

Listing and advertising subscribers need to be aware that:

  • subscribing businesses are able to list, post, update, edit and advertise products, services, promotions and information live without the need for prior Oi authorisation or review (although Oi does have the right to review and edit any content, without obligation to do so).  Accordingly, as noted above, it is important that all posted detail (verbal, visual and written) is truthful, accurate, factually correct and not misleading or deceptive.
  • the use of big headline statement claims like “Free” is discouraged.  All offers must be transparent and not worded in such a way as to be misleading or only available subject to undisclosed terms and conditions.
  • O&i receives only subscription and advertising revenue from subscribers and does not collect separate payments or incentives from any individual business offers posted within the website. Oi does not financially gain itself (by commission, fee, fixed charge or otherwise) from the sale of goods within “Offers” posts and displays within its website. The only revenue Oi receives is from fixed price subscription fees for business listings and from advertising on carousels within its website. Oi is not a group buying platform and does not receive commissions through any such practices.
  • Oi does not actively write, format, provide text, or direct or encourage traffic towards any of its subscribers or their advertisements or offers.
  • Oi disapproves of the use bait advertising or any other form of promotion whereby the product or services promoted are only available in minimal quantities or only available for a very short period of time. Qualifying quantities and time periods must be displayed in a clear and obvious manner.
  • when advertising rebates, gifts, redemptions and cash back offers, advertisers must clearly display, detail and honour all conditions and promises promoted for those particular products or services.
  • advertisers must make sure that any competitor comparative marketing statements are accurate, proven, relevant and relate directly to the compared product or service.
  • all reviews (whether by users, listed businesses or advertisers) to be genuine and honest and not to be used as a tool to promote or detract from the goods or services reviewed.
  • qualification claims may only be included within posts, offers and business listings if they are truthful, lawful and not misleading or deceptive.  If, for example, medical or health claims are made in any advertising, those claims must be able to withstand qualified independent scrutiny.  Supporting evidence of such claims needs to be clearly displayed or clearly and easily made accessible. Similarly, if a business or advertiser makes claims such as “only one in existence”, or “first to do so” etc, such claims must also be demonstrably correct.
  • if any promotion has exclusions applied (i.e. certain brands are not included within the offer) then these exclusions must be clearly displayed or clearly and easily made accessible so as not to confuse or mislead users.
  • “fine print” terms and conditions must not be used in such a manner as to obscure or distort the offer’s headline. Fine print terms and conditions need to be communicated in plain English and, when visually displayed, in a large and legible enough font to be easily read and understood.
  • if a lay-by promotion is offered then the promotion must be honoured within its time and date and terms and conditions.
  • Oi reserves the right not to permit the posting of any offers, posts or advertising that we regard as not being fit for publication.
  • the word “offers” is relative to any business posting a genuine product or service promotion that suggests that the listed product or service is being promoted as a genuine advantage with no misleading detail and will be available to all purchasers unless clearly stated i.e. limitations may include clearly stated time/quantity etc qualifications.
  • price or cost comparisons must be accurate, genuine and verifiable. Sale mark-downs must genuinely represent a price lesser than the goods or services advertised had been marked (priced) at prior to the promotion, and otherwise comply with regulatory requirements.
  • listing and advertising subscribers need to be aware that goods and services in Australia automatically come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
  • warranties and product or service promises should be clearly stated and easily understood.
  • listing and advertising subscribers must refrain from unfair contract terms, unconscionable conduct, harassment and coercion, and pyramid and ponzi schemes. We will not tolerate any such conduct on our website. All listing and advertising subscribers should seek up to date guidance from the Australian government consumer protection and advertising standards agencies and regulators. Relevant Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) links are displayed below.

ACCC website: https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-protection/where-to-go-for-consumer-help

ACL website: https://consumerlaw.gov.au/

Privacy

We understand that listing and advertising subscribers are concerned about their privacy, confidentiality and security of any information that may be provided to us. We are committed to protecting user privacy, in compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP). For more information about the APP, please click https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles/

We acknowledge that we receive private information in the process of providing our services and recommend that listing and advertising subscribers read our Privacy Policy https://offersandinfo.com/privacy-policy/

Our Privacy Policy explains:

  • what personal information we may collect;
  • how we may use or share information;
  • how we secure the personal information that we collect; and
  • how listing and advertising subscribers may access the personal information that we hold about them.

We acknowledge that listing and advertising subscribers may click-through to third party sites from our website.  We cannot assume any responsibility for information and content of third party sites so we recommend that listing and advertising subscribers refer to the individual privacy statements of the sites they visit.

We use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site, track user movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. We do not link IP addresses to personally identifiable information, and we do not distribute or share IP information with any third parties.

Oi may use Google advertising programs to improve the online experience, including the display of relevant ads on external websites. Anyone can opt out of these programs at any time by clicking here.