NetCommerce pushes Website trust

A new Web brand is trying to position itself as a byword for trustworthiness. Trust-On-Line’s creator, online retailer and shopping portal NetCommerce, claims to have signed up 150 “major retailers” to its scheme, which acts as a guarantor of high-quality customer service.

However, as Marketing Week went to press, NetCommerce could only name one of these retailers: Vacuum Cleaners Direct.

Trust-On-Line commercial manager Jason Smith says: “We have issued three-quarters of our accreditations and it’s now a case of waiting for them to implement [the scheme] on their sites.”

Trust-On-Line will offer a free service until August. It will then charge £10 to £50 a month, depending on the average order value and number of click-throughs to its Website.

The company says it will act on behalf of consumers in the event of a dispute with the retailer.

Trust-On-Line has taken out an insurance policy with Lloyds of London that should allow compensation in “extreme cases”, although it is confident of sorting things out before they reach that stage.

The Web brand will initially receive consumer complaints by e-mail, and follow this up with an in-person visit to the retailer if things aren’t resolved within three days.