This thread is for disclosing take-down requests from merchants and related discussions. We at OzBargain often receive requests from merchants to remove pages and deals on this website. Sometimes the requests can be reasonable but sometimes not. The moderators will use this thread to post requests from merchants + our actions.
For merchants / store representatives:
Oh well hopefully the guy gets to keep his job :)
Lol boss knows how overpriced it is ;)
30% off at Lululemon - Sydney CBD Store - Today Only (27th April)
Email from lululemon:
… someone is fraudulently sharing a flyer for discounted purchases at our Ivy Store tonight. This was a collaboration for the workspace who are in relationship and partnership with our store manager. Someone from their office has shared the flyer advertising a discount online.
Can it please be removed as this was not to be shared.
It's targeted for Workspace customers only, and as per requested the deal is now removed.
CPA Free Application Fee and 50% off First Year Membership
Email from CPA Australia last week:
We have recently become aware that a CPA Australia promotional code has been posted on ozbargain.com.au without our authorisation. … Does OzBargain have any mechanisms in place to allow brand owners to prevent the posting of their promotional codes on your website?
A few options have been provided, and CPA Australia decided that they would like to have the entire cpaaustralia.com.au blocked on OzBargain.
CPA Australia banned on OzBargain as per request.
Brava Protective Seal Free Sample
Email from Coloplast Australia
Please note that we are a manufacturer of medical supplies – and our products are for people with particular medical conditions. Most of the sample requests that came through from your website were not genuine and took our staff away from helping people who are in need.
We therefor ask that you please do not promote our products on your website in future.
We are honouring merchants' requests to not to participate on OzBargain. Hence free sample deal removed and Coloplast Australia links banned.
Eww. I went for a bit of a Google to see what it was (not that I would claim un-needed medical freebies) and most of their products referred to leakage. I think I may vomit.
Welcome to my world.
Worst part is, I hear there is no cure for it.
What was the reason for the 20% off Selected Stores @ eBay takedown?
I am sorting that out with eBay. For start,
I think that means they need to give their merchants a heads-up so they can jack their prices up a bit.
And then make a BS claim that they will "investigate" sellers that do this.
The merchants know way in advance as they were invited to the program — so it's not likely the cause.
The problem of announcing the promotion too early is that people stopped buying until the promotion starts, and that's a loss of revenue for them (both merchants and eBay). Moreover they have 10% store wide at 12PM, but now there won't be a rush when people know that there will be a 20% off at 4PM.
I'll just say that it is understandable that eBay doesn't like leaks. In this case I have received more info from eBay and will re-publish the 20% off Selected Stores deal later.
Moreover they have 10% store wide at 12PM, but now there won't be a rush when people know that there will be a 20% off at 4PM.
That is the very definition of a marketing dick move.
I'll just say that it is understandable that eBay doesn't like leaks.
I'll just say it is understandable that consumers don't like getting spun they're getting a bargain, when the business knows there's a bigger sale not 4 hours away.
2 Months Free Netflix from LiveUp
Report from LiveUp/RedMart
Dear OzBargains Moderation Team, We are making a request to have the following post removed from your site. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/310917 We understand the post is currently active and well viewed. However, under our terms and conditions this promotion is meant only for Singapore Residents. This is the intention of our service and is clearly stated in our T&Cs. As an Australian deal site, most signups generate from your user base would not be legitimate subscribers. This is also confirmed clearly in the extensive comments section of the posting discussing how to fraudulently setup accounts. Further, our T&Cs allow us to claw back or fully charge back in the event of such situations (See Variations and Terminations 2.C). We kindly appreciate your support in removing this post from your site and any subsequent posts on the subject. If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected]
The deal has been marked as expired and the instructions/steps to obtain the deal removed.
Hungry Jack Promo starting 1 Aug — title removed as it is considered confidential business information.
Email from CMO of Hungry Jack's:
Urgent Attention Required
…
Please note that this is confidential information pertaining to Hungry Jack's that puts our business at risk and must be removed with immediate effect.
Post removed, and requested Hungry Jack's on when we are able to republish the information.
Haha, should've taken it down sooner. Saw it and felt hungry, than realised it doesn't start for a week.
10% off Sitewide @ eBay (Min Spend $75, Max Discount $500) sometime next week
Received an email from eBay, where they still have no confirmed whether they are running the offer, i.e. might still be at planning stage.
Post removed.
It appears that the t&c page for the promotion has appeared again on eBay, indicating that the promotion is likely to happen. The deal will be republished again later today and will be highlighted after 10am when the coffee is confirmed to work.
My coffee has started to work already :)
Win $10,000 or 1 of 50,000 Instant Win Prizes (Purchase a Bulla Creamy Classics Choc Top at HOYTS)
Marketing at Hoyts wrote in an email:
This is in regards to a Hoyts/Bulla competition which was posted to OzBargain.com.au at approximately 15:25 today (01/10).
We've noticed a number of falsified requests with a HTTP referrer from ozbargain.com.au which are abusing the competitions terms and conditions in multiple ways. Please remove the mentioned competition on this page:
Competition unpublished.
Hmm… Interesting to know if a purchase is required, how the T&Cs can be abused.
Still, doesn't bode well for us when something like that happens.
Hmm… Interesting to know if a purchase is required, how the T&Cs can be abused.
Yeah, I checked when it was unpublished and there were only about 14 clicks at the time.
I had a look at the entry page again and it doesn't look like they require a photo of the receipt (just the barcode number). The only thing I could think of is if someone entered several times with the 1 barcode number (using different names/email addresses) until they won?
I understand that they can't check 50,000 receipts for an instant win comp, but I've noticed more promoters requiring a unique code - either on the wrapper or receipt - to minimised any abuse of the T&Cs (which unfortunately seems to happen a lot these days).
Still, doesn't bode well for us when something like that happens.
+1
It's disappointing that Hoyts couldn't just ban the IP addresses of those abusing the T&Cs. Ah well, hopefully they are able to minimise the fraudulent entries so that it's fair for everyone (and maybe an OzBargainer will take out the major prize with a legitimate entry!)
doesn't help that they wrote the barcode numbers in some clear text javascript as well.
http://www.chocbuster.com.au/js/public.js
Seems about right for people to abuse terms and conditions.. A bit confused though how you can if its one entry per purchase?
Received email from Telstra to have the page removed, as
The page contains Telstra's confidential pricing information and we do not agree to its release on the ozbargain site.
For a much discussed topic, we at OzBargain are trying to minimise the removal of content. However in this case where pricing from Telstra was considered confidential, we have decided to
How can it be considered confidential when Amway are linking to it from Facebook and there is no authentication required before accessing the page?
Received email from ACON to have the page removed, as
Despite disclaimers that Ozbargain have published in the post that only gay men and men who have sex with men should access our resources, the post by purely existing on your website, which is accessible by anyone, means that it cannot be guaranteed that only people in LGBTI communities are accessing our resources.
For a much discussed topic, we at OzBargain are trying to minimise the removal of content. We have done the following:
Why is the link still visible in the revision history? Should this not be removed too?
Revision data has been changed to hide the actual URL.
I don't know why you've been negged. It's a valid point.
Admittedly, I've used revision data before to get around deals where links are removed, moreso out of interest rather than exploit, but the whole point of removing the link to protect the charity.
USB Rechargeable LED Glowing Dog Collars for Safety $8.00 Each + $3 Postage @ Active LED
ActiveLED has sent in multiple emails requesting the thread to be removed. Basically complaining
Requesting
As ActiveLED stated in her email that whether we agree with her assessment or not, she feels sick everytime she reads the comment, that there is no point for me to continue to argue with her the validity of those comments (mostly just community pointing out similar items are cheaper elsewhere) and what OzBargain is about (we are a community bargain hunting site after all). Therefore,
Saucy drama
The Rep was trying to sell led dog collars that costs a few dollars on Aliexpress for about $18.00 shipped.
USB Rechargeable LED Glowing Dog Collars for Safety $9.00 Each + $9 Postage @ Active LED
Claimed that it was being sold at cost, then lowered the price later on (see scotty's comment)
Then told certain members to stop commenting in the comments section.
Also stated warranty was 30 days on a $30.00 RRP dog collar, but sold under Aus Consumer Laws warranty should be a lot longer than that (12 months would be reasonable)
After disabling their account, another account was opened by someone for the sole purpose of launching a personal attack on a valued Ozbargain member.
Gerry Harvey has a sister? lol..
Lesson learned I hope, don't argue with an army of professionals.
Like it would have killed her to be honest and take OzBargain seriously. This vendor managed to and will return.
Focalprice rep took it 10x better than most others reps do.
OK, let's end the discussion about this takedown and move on.
Win a MacBook and iPhone X Worth $3,778 from Student Super
From Student Super:
This competition is specifically targeting students, with the bulk of our entrants signing up in person at university o-week stalls. We would prefer not to receive entrants from unverified web traffic.
Competition page is unpublished.
$7.00-$10.00 Standard Tickets for Students + $8-$12 Adult Tickets (Selected Cinemas) @ Event Cinemas
Email from Event Cinema:
I am requesting the following post be removed from public view ASAP. This post breaches our Terms & Conditions.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/301383
When asked about the terms and conditions that have been breached, we got a response:
The student MUST present their student ID and the code is then given to them. This must be verified and not simply a free for all offer.
Instead of removing the page, we have removed the coupon code for the students. The code will be issued upon signing up & presenting the identification.
Sounds like the booking site has no method to prove the holder of a student ticket is a student.So need to restrict sale of the initial ticket to a valid student.
Fair enough request.
TWAM (shortened for clarity):
Delete this post immediately I will need to take legal action
Delete this post immediately: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/370485I came here with good intentions and made effort to abide by all page rules. This post has now turned into a troll fest for people to make false accusations and attacks.
Please remove this post immediately or I will need to contact my legal representative to take action against it as slander posted in a public place.
After conversing with the rep, they were given the option of having the post removed on the basis the store is permanently banned and they won't be able to post on OzBargain again. This option was taken. Therefore:
Had to check, and yep, posted by the rep. Need a lesson in PR 101.
Tried to reason with the rep. Hopefully they learn how to deal with negative feedback in the future!
Oh that's a shame, I tried quite hard to turn that around.
EaseUS Todo PCTrans Pro 9.5 FREE Licence Key (PC)
Free EaseUS Partition Master Professional V12.8 from EaseUS.de Promotion
Free Easeus Todo Backup Home 10.6 for Windows (Value AU $43.99)
Email from EaseUS.de:
thank you for your close attention to our EaseUS' promotion or giveaway firstly. But you should not publish our license on your site like this
License keys should not be published/shared. These are removed from the pages + warning added to prevent license keys to be published in future posts.
Man Rags: Free Socks (or $2, $5, or 50% First Month)
The rep contacted us and requested removal due to the free code which was only supposed to be for certain subscribers. The rep also made a legal threat against us.
Like it would have killed the Rep to return with a bargain instead.
What's the update on Loadednz?
I sent an email to Loadednz about my order but no reply yet
I just checked the card I paid with, I got a refund. However, due to the exchange rates, I made a profit of $0.05 !
Loadednz $100 Discount Code with No Minimum Purchases (Excludes Sale Items)
YOU HAVE A FRAUDULENT DEAL UP ON YOUR WEBSITE - PLACED THEIR BY SOMEONE WHO HAS TRIED TO USE VOUCHERS FRAUDULENTLY - CAN YOU PLEASE REMOVE THIS IMMEDIATELY AND BLOCK THEM??
THERE WAS NO VERIFICATION TO US FOR THIS OFFER SO HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN???
Wow all caps…. must of meant business
Free Australian Criminal Background Check @ Checked
The rep contacted us with a takedown request for the above deal, citing the below reasons:
Safer Way to Sell Any Airline, Bank or Credit Card Points
Received a cease & desist from Virgin Australia's Credit and Fraud team, claiming there's fraudulent sale of Velocity Points on OzBargain, as purchase of loyalty points is not allowed by VFF's terms and conditions.
Edit: After discussions with the moderating team, the action is limited to just closing the thread.
I wonder if Qantas Frequent Flyer Points will follow suit.
Yes selling points is against terms and conditions but hardly breaking any laws.
Can ozb get into trouble if they refuse to comply with the cease and desist
good move on not removing the thread completely.
why not just remove any reference to specific companies.
Further springboarded discussion as per mods request Selling Credit Card Points (Virgin), Is It Getting Harder? here.
Win a Trip to Germany for 2 Worth Over $10,000 from Must Do Brisbane
Received an email this afternoon at 5:19PM AEST:
As the terms and conditions of the competition stated Australian resident only, which implies it was opened to not just Queensland residents but also other states. After presenting this fact, the T&C of the competition got changed to Queensland residents only, and OzBargain comp entry updated to reflect that.
Store banned pending potential legal threat.
the T&C of the competition got changed
It doesn't look like a direct provision in the QLD legislation prohibits changing Terms and Conditions mid-competition, but it's almost certainly a breach of the integrity and fairness intentions under s3 of the Charitable and Non-profit Gaming Act 1999, which regulates QLD competitions.
Similarly, the regulations listed in schedule 5 of the Charitable and Non-Profit Gaming Rule 2010 have a number of provisions that might have been breached here:
(s6) Subject to any test of an entrant’s knowledge, skill or judgement required to enter the promotional game, each entrant must have a fair and equal chance of winning the major prize at the start of the game.
(s7) The terms and conditions of the promotional game must be readily available to all entrants and complied with
s8(i) requires T&C's to state "whether the game involves a round in which players are eliminated".
If they hit OzB with a legal notice I suggest someone here file an integrity complaint with the QLD gambling regulator and let their lawyers have a picnic.
it would be doubtful that any competition would suggest that spreading the message is against terms or law
That is the general intention of the marketing practice spread the word get maximum publicity.
$400,000 TV commercial for baby products will probably have 20% of the viewers on target, but they can't sue me for watching their ads because i dont have babies
however changing the rules of a competition does certainly sound wrong and against law
Did anyone actually file a complaint?
I doubt much success as by reducing the pool you increase the chances of winning as long as the non-qld are still allowed in the pool that entered before change of conditions.
Not from me
Free Entry Feb 1-3 @ Costco (Docklands)
Someone from Costco Docklands emailed us a Cease & Desist last week about the above deal, claiming "Damaging post to business credibility". As a bit of email conversation requesting for more information, rep claimed that
Costco is not going to run a free trial on 1st of Feb, with or without a 'pamphlet present'.
As the deal is no longer available even to those targeted few (as claimed by Costco), the post will be moved to the forum.
Melbourne Star Observation Wheel Admission $1 @ Adrenaline
Received an email this morning from Adrenaline requesting the deal to be removed, as it's a price error on their part. Moreover, Adrenaline stated that transactions will not be honoured, and they will be informing the customers affected in the next hour.
After we have confirmed that it's indeed a price error and customers will be refunded, the deal will be moved to the forums.
I did not get any email from adrenaline for the refund
I received a paypal notification, but no explanation from Adrenaline.
I did not use PayPal and haven’t got my money back nor anything from adrenaline
@ChampofAus: Bank refunds often take a few days. Set a reminder in your phone for a week from now, and hit them up if it's still not there. Most likely, the charge will disappear completely from your account, rather than it crediting you in another transaction.
Reading this thread brought me considerable joy.
Yes. This is great!
Since you already checked out they cannot reneg on the offer, at time of checkout they should havw advised of the pricing error, if not, they need to honour it, they are trying their best to wiggle out of this one and hope majority just give, recommend all to fight back hard on this one.
How do we fight back?
Just show up to the wheel with our booking voucher and ensure a manager lets us ride?
But they can. Pricing errors are a common exclusion to consumer law. This means that provides the refund the monies paid they are within their rights to not honour the error.
Received an email from Benefit Cosmetics this morning asking for that deal to be temporarily unpublished, as the offer is not supposed to be public until Friday. They also said that it's fine to have the offer republished on Friday.
Scheduled a highlight for an hour on Friday
For a second there i thought you'd booked yourself in for some highlights.
As the deal already got +65 votes and is starting in the future, we have already scheduled a highlight before the take-down request came in. However I'm putting in that point to ensure our members that they'll see that deal again when it's live (as well as prevent people posting dups).
That bat of yours is very straight. Just to be clear, for a moment there i thought you'd booked yourself in to the Benefit Cosmetics Counter at Myer for an hour this Friday for some highlighter. I'm sure other members would agree it could really add to your visage.
Free $25 Voucher for Completing a Survey @ Happy Way
4/7/19
Hi we had a mega glitch in our system and this deal wasn't meant to be posted to public from a ozbargain user.
Please delete
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/468299Kind Regards,
Happy Way
5/7/19
No action taken. Advised Happy Way that the deal was already marked as expired prior to the takedown request (as the coupons conditions had changed), which is all we can do. It appears that the company has subsequently cancelled orders that were made without an additional payment.
Win a Cacao/Candle/Bath & Body/Veuve Clicquot Prize Pack Worth $400 from Cacao/Beauty's Got Soul
Can you please remove the Cacao/Beauty’s got soul giveaway from your website (OZBargain Support) with immediate effect. We have never requested, nor authorised this to be listed on your website
Competition removed, site banned from competition and deal posts.
That's just weird, to not want more entries to a competition
perhaps they've already picked a winner.
definitely something fishy.
Lol:
https://www.facebook.com/CacaoChocolatePatisserie/posts/1015…
Feel free to share with your friends.
@spackbace: oh they just forgot the sarcasm font.
this has all the vibe of a job you apply for that's somehow already filled.
MANRAGS: Free Socks (or $2, $5, or 50% First Month) (Yes, forgot to add here last year)
Hello - this code that was posted by someone is a private code only for our paid subscriptions.. and someone has shared it without our knowledge or permission.
delete it immediately.
If we are still on there by end of business today we will take legal action.
We won’t be asking again for this thread to be removed.
Our next action will be legal.
Deal remain but link to deal, referrals and code removed. Due to legal threat, site permanently banned.
Ha, apparently. They did contact twice again due to another 2 deals posted.
Buy One Sandwich, Get One Free, on Friday 1/11 @ Subway
Subway emailed:
This offer is not happening this year and was an offer from last year. Can this please be removed?
Subway also explained the changes they made to the promotion campaign this year, after the leaflets have been printed. However as the deal has been voted to front page, with many people subscribed to it, we decided to move to the forums instead and added "Cancelled" to the title. See mod comment.
StartCon 2019 Tickets $1ea (Usually $195) - Royal Randwick Racecourse
StartCon sent us a support email this morning, stating:
Please pull down offer immediately on your site. This was a private offer for subscribers to our mailing list for 24 hours only.
As it's a significant discount that's intended to only a small set of recipients, and has also received only little interest from OzBargain, we have decided to take down the page.
Email from eBay to ask us to remove that page. The linked clipping is from a press release under embargo by eBay's PR team to a number of media outlets.
The post is taken down for now. Please note
Situation might change. I'll keep everyone updated.
A-HA I asked on there where that spreadsheet was from..
Limited $99 Airpods 2 (hush)
Deal
Live EFTPOS 10000mAh Power Bank - $40 Delivered (Save $10)
Request
(1)
(2)
Action
Their deal (first and only) is removed on the 7/4/17, on the basis that their store is permanently banned from OzBargain, i.e. they cannot ever post here again.