The Complaint
Summary of Facts
The Complainant purchased a printer and wanted to register for the maintenance and repair service (“the Registration”) of the vendor (“the Vendor”) through the Vendor’s webpage. However, the Complainant found that she had to log into the webpage of the Vendor’s membership programme (“the Programme”) before registering. As the Complainant was not a member of the Programme, she was required to provide her personal data for membership registration before applying for the maintenance and repair service. The Complainant said that the Vendor had unnecessarily required her to provide her personal data to join the Programme, including her date of birth. Hence, she lodged a complaint with this Office.
Information provided by the Vendor
The Vendor explained that all customers could generally get the after-sale maintenance and repair service with their purchase invoice and product record card. However, to get an extra three months’ maintenance and repair service, they had to join the Programme. As the Registration extension was offered only to members of the Programme, customers who wanted to get the extension had to become Programme members first and then register by entering their member account number and password on the Programme webpage.
Regarding the collection of the full date of birth of individuals joining the Programme, the Vendor explained that the year of birth was important for analysing market trends and customer consumption habits, and the month of birth was collected to provide birthday privileges or gifts to members.
Outcome
The Commissioner was of the view that registering for maintenance and repair service for products purchased was a basic right of customers. The right to receive after-sales service should not depend on whether customers are members of the Programme. Although the Vendor explained that its customers could get the standard maintenance and repair service with their purchase invoice and product record card, the Vendor accepted the Commissioner’s recommendation by amending its webpage to specify that customers could receive the standard maintenance and repair service by producing their purchase invoice and product record card, but that they could receive the three months’ extension only by joining the Programme.
Regarding the collection of members’ full date of birth, the Commissioner recommended that the Vendor inform the customers joining the Programme of the purpose of collecting their personal data (i.e. for analysis of market trends and consumption habits, and for providing birthday privileges or gifts to members), and explain that it would collect their year and month of birth only with their voluntary consent. The Vendor stopped collecting the full date of birth of members. Instead, it now collects only the month of birth. It also undertook to destroy the records of year and date of birth of members previously collected.
(Uploaded in October 2015)