Say No To Compulsory Sign Ups !!!!!!!!

codger

Cerro wrote: »

While I agree it is a hassle I feel it is a necessary one.

Sorry Cerro, but it isn't necessary at all.

An online retailer can just as easily offer an option to buy without registering as buy with registering.

In this alleged age of consumer choice, failure to offer that option is no choice at all.

Cerro

Well I am all for choice - but for anything i'd buy from more than once i'd want a login. It's more secure and if you are worried about how companies use your data they are very strictly controlled. The OP's main gripe seems to be with companies making after sales calls or sending emails (using the information given) but all companies should provide an option to prevent them from doing most (if not all) of that. If its simply the information that you are giving up that bothers you - well without a login you might as well hand out your details because almost anyone can access it if it is unsecured.

Yes I would agree that you should have the choice but I also feel that you really should sign up when possible - it doesn't take that long (saving time in the long run) and you are reducing your visibility on the internet.

MothballsWallet

IvanOpinion wrote: »

I find it no big deal. I use a generic 'myorders' email address and have no problem giving my address .. jeez if they don;t have it they can buy it from 101 resellers. Overall it is no big deal and just part of the electronic 21st century ... if it really annoys you then you always have the choice to shop elsewhere .. including in a real store where they will monitor your use of credit card etc. .

I am not sure that accounts can be closed down willy nilly because companies need to keep records for something like 6 years for various purposes.

ivan

Broadly speaking, the length of time that a company is legally obliged to keep records depends on the type of data - for example, shops can destroy debit/credit card receipts sooner than, say, customer details.

What really gets under my skin are these idiot companies (and I know of some, but unsure as to whether I can name and shame them) who refuse to update their records when you contact them to help them comply with principal 4 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) and they still contact a previous occupant. They then quote the DPA as why they can't update their records!

codger

Cerro wrote: »

Well I am all for choice - but for anything i'd buy from more than once i'd want a login.

Cerro: not to labour this, but. . . I AGREE with you. However (!) surely the point is:

How in Heaven's name do I KNOW I want to buy from an online retailer again UNTIL I have experienced my first transaction??????

ANSWER: I don't.

My OP referred to Marks & Spencer, so let's stick with that. I MIGHT want to buy from M&S again. . . but I'll only do so on the basis of my first purchasing experience.

IF the goods are delivered on time; IF the packaging is sound (and sometimes, it's not: try ordering electrical goods via Boots online to see what kind of a shambles Boots's sub-contractors makes of it); and IF the retailer's comms are good (and very often -- as with Debenham's for example, when they notify you of despatch AFTER you've received the item -- they're most certainly not) then yes. . . I'll stick with 'em in future.

And I'll register.

But what if the order processing / delivery / comms turns out to be a shambles???????????

As far as M&S is concerned, lump it. You're registered. And that's it.

No way, Jose.

Surely in this day and age, consumers should only sign up to retailers on the basis of experience -- NOT expectation.

Online retailers who require you to register with them online BEFORE you've had the chance to sample the calibre of their product / the quality of their service aren't worth patronising at all.

Hence. . . stuff Marks & Spencer. Offering no choice means: no buy.

stacey21_2

I went to get a new watch battery and they took my postcode and house number, what was that for??

codger

stacey21 wrote: »

I went to get a new watch battery and they took my postcode and house number, what was that for??

Oh c'mon, Stacey. There are several reasons:

(1) Online retailers have been suffering a £multi-million scam on fraudulent purchases of watch batteries. All around the world, unscrupulous consumers have been buying expensive (circa £2) watch batteries using stolen credit cards and stolen identities. It's an outrage.

(2) The value of a watch battery (circa £2) is such that commonsense dictates every online retailer should require of its prospective purchasers not only their postcode and house number, but the name of their favourite film star, holiday destination, and National Insurance number. Failure to provide same will prove that the prospective purchaser is a Professional Watch Battery Thief.

(3) A watch battery could fail after five minutes. (They usually don't, but never mind that.) So it's essential if you, as a consumer, wish to have a steady supply of watch batteries that you satisfy your online supplier that you're not connected with Organised Crime.

Alternatively. . .

It could be yet another example of the way online retailers seek information which they don't need and to which they're not entitled but which too many consumers inexplicably provide anyway. . .


:j

rosieben

I have to register at most of the graphics and scrapbooking sites I visit before I can access information; it used to annoy me but for those sites that I'm not buying from I really enjoy making up silly addresses etc.

One or two sites I visit have a dailogue box pop up every time I visit (despite the fact that I've already registered!) asking where I heard about them, well every time I visit I give a different answer :rolleyes: I'm sure a other people do the same so the information they are collecting is less than useless. I often wonder if some poor postman somewhere is trying to deliver a letter to Dora Jar or her friend Willy Maykit.... :rotfl:

All companies gather customer/visitor information for 'marketing' purposes.

All you can do if you decide to buy from one an online store is to make sure that you tick the box turning down information of 'future exciting offers' etc. If you really object to them having your credit card information, then shop in the High Street (not sure that your credit card details are any safer there though actually!)

codger

rosieben wrote: »

I often wonder if some poor postman somewhere is trying to deliver a letter to Dora Jar or her friend Willy Maykit.... :rotfl:

Yay, love it!!

Oh: appropos thrifty's comments, here's a handy little 'device' I use when online shopping (well, when shopping with online suppliers who don't insist I register first):

http://sneakemail.com/index.pl/1183020442?sel=log_in&sid=

Highly recommended! :j

Ghost

Hi codger,

Having to register just to make a purchase is one of my pet hates too. Especially with the now popular email authentication systems where you have to jump through several hoops during and after registration. I just want to order, pay and go, without having to spend another 15 minutes faffing around with all this.

codger

But maybe we'll win, Ghost?

I've snail mailed a note to M&S's MD saying wot a wunnerful online store he has and how wunnerful it would've been to patronise it with the £200sworth of business we've now given to House of Fraser. . .

Which, ironically, doesn't have an online store at all, and so the bother of compulsory registration doesn't arise.

Sometimes the High Street is still the best bet: the HoF sales staff who sold us our items have no idea who we are.