Coupon code policy

PriceyDicey operates to the IAB UK Affiliate Marketing Council Code of Conduct – Vouchers (version 4.0, June 2017), the code that Awin and the other major affiliate networks enforce as a condition of working with a publisher. This page sets out each rule and what we do about it, so that a reader, an advertiser or a network can check us against it rather than take our word.

We apply it to every offer on the site, wherever it came from — an advertiser, a network, an agency or a reader.

1. Acting in good faith

The Code requires publishers to comply with its spirit as well as its letter, and to create content in good faith with the end user in mind.

Our test for anything on this site is whether a reader who followed it would feel misled afterwards. That is why we publish the conditions attached to an offer rather than only the discount, why we say when we do not know an offer’s end date, and why the page describing how we check codes describes a modest process rather than a heroic one.

2. Information that is true, accurate and not misleading

Key terms and expiry, immediately visible

The Code: a description of the key terms and conditions of a voucher, including any expiration date, must be immediately visible when viewing the voucher, having regard to the screen size of the device.

Every offer on this site carries a row of terms directly beneath it showing its end date and its main conditions — minimum spend, new customers only, selected products, exclusions, app only, and so on. That row is plain text on the page. It is not behind a tooltip, an accordion or a tap, and it is not removed or truncated on a phone; the mobile layout is built so it stays readable at 320 pixels wide. The same terms are repeated inside the window that appears when a code is revealed.

Expired vouchers

The Code: vouchers must be kept up to date, and an expired voucher may only continue to be published if it is immediately apparent to consumers that it has expired. Stating the expiration date alone is not sufficient.

On the day an offer’s end date passes it is removed automatically from every live list, count, search result and category on this site. It then appears only on its store’s page, inside a section headed “recently expired”, with a red EXPIRED badge, the text struck through, the date it ended stated, and the code button replaced by the words “no longer works”. After 21 days it is unpublished entirely. Expired offer pages are also marked noindex so search engines do not present them as live.

Prominent, fair and intelligible terms

Terms are written in ordinary English, in the same size type as the rest of the offer, in dark text on a light background. The full terms of any promotion are set by the store and shown at its checkout, and every offer says so.

Metatags and keywords

The Code: any metatags or keywords associated with a voucher must not generate misleading search results.

Page titles and descriptions are generated from the offers that are actually live at that moment. When the best offer at a store expires, the title and description change with it the same day. We do not put discounts in a page title that are not on the page, we do not list stores we have no offers for, and we do not create pages for promotions that do not exist.

3. Consequences that meet reasonable expectations

The Code: consumers must not be required, invited or induced to act without being properly informed of the consequences; a valid voucher must be the primary consequence of that action; and the consumer must be made aware if the action will cause a redirect or cause a website to appear.

• Every code button carries a line beneath it, before you press it, reading “Shows the code and opens [store] in a new tab”. Deal buttons say “Opens [store] in a new tab”.
• Pressing it produces the code. The code is displayed in full, copied to the clipboard, and also left visible on the button behind the window. Getting the code is the primary consequence, not a side effect of arriving at the store.
• The store opens in a new tab, so the offer and its terms are still there when you come back.
• There is no interstitial page, no countdown, no sign-up wall and no requirement to install anything in order to see a code.

4. Vouchers differentiated from other promotions

The Code: it must be clear whether a discount is obtained by using a voucher, through a group-coupon arrangement, a daily-deal promotion, or is a sales promotion offered by the advertiser generally.

Each offer is labelled Code or Deal, filterable by that label, and additionally states “code entered at checkout” or “no code needed” in its terms row and “voucher code” or “store deal” in its footer. We run no group-buying or daily-deal mechanics of any kind; if we ever do, they will be labelled separately.

5. Monetisation only with permission

The Code: vouchers must only be monetised with the permission of the advertiser or its licensors, publishers must not monetise vouchers exclusively licensed to another affiliate, and must cease monetisation on request.

• Commercial links are only created for advertisers whose programmes we have been accepted into. Where we are not accepted, an offer is either published without a commercial link or not published.
• We do not publish a code we have reason to believe is exclusive to another publisher, a named creator, an employee, or a single customer account.
• On request from an advertiser or its network we remove an offer or stop monetising it. No explanation is required from them and we do not argue the point.

6. Publishing in line with advertiser instructions

We follow the instructions attached to each programme, including any restrictions on paid search, trademark bidding, coupon-code use in advertising copy, and the promotional channels a store allows. Where an advertiser gives no instruction we publish only offers the advertiser has itself made public. Store names and logos are used solely to identify the store and remain the property of their owners.

7. Nothing that brings the model into disrepute

We publish no user-generated content that appears without review. Codes sent in by readers are read by a person before publication and are rejected if they look personal, obtained improperly, or likely to breach a store’s terms. There are no open comments on this site. Any complaint about content from an advertiser or a network is answered promptly.

Advertisers and networks: how to reach us

Reviewing this policy

The Code requires compliance measures to be reviewed periodically. We review this page and the checks behind it whenever the Code is updated, whenever a network raises anything with us, and otherwise at least twice a year.