Discount voucher firm in spat with Which?

Online discount voucher company MyVoucherCodes has accused consumer watchdog Which? of bias after it criticised the discount voucher codes sector.

Which’s research concluded price comparison sites sometimes offered better deals than voucher sites and the story was widely covered in the national press yesterday (26 March). The discount aggregator says the research is unreliable because Which? runs its own profit-making comparison site.

The report said online shoppers should not assume that discount vouchers are always the cheapest way to buy goods online, and comparison sites often offer better deals.

“Which? failed to mention anywhere in its report was that its own revenue making comparison website, WhichCompare.co.uk is just a white label version of PriceRunner.co.uk,” says a statement issued by MyVoucherCodes today.

The discounter is now calling on Which? to be “more transparent” when it reports on the sector in future. Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes says:

““One of the ironies of the Which? release is that despite their strap line ‘No advertising, no bias, no hidden agenda’, the study clearly promotes whichcompare.co.uk, which is a white label version of the also-mentioned ‘Pricerunner’, another price comparison site, which we suspect operates on a revenue split basis.”

However, Which? points out the report declares its interest in red bold type in the report. “Our research showed that shoppers should shop around and not assume that one site always offers the best deal on everything,” says a spokesperson in response to the allegations.

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