Who You Gonna Call? Fraudbusters!

By Diane E. Levine (11/15/99; 9:00 a.m. ET)
Planet IT

WebAssured.com is designed to build consumer confidence in online shopping.

Nearly everybody I know is shopping on the Web. Even I've become a confirmed "Webophile," choosing to stay away from crowded shopping malls to shop at my own pace in the comfort of my home or office.

And there are several advantages to doing your shopping at strange hours when you've finished a long assignment, or when you've come off a tiring plane flight, or just aren't feeling up to going out and searching through department and specialty stores to find just the right gift.

Of course, with the added convenience online shopping, there also come some perplexing problems that can be time-consuming, frustrating, and frequently irresolvable.

Whenever I make a purchase from a traditional brick-and-mortar shop and something is wrong with the merchandise, I can take the item back to the store, get it fixed or exchanged, or get a refund credited to my account. There's a certain reassurance in the mere physical presence of the store and the live store salesperson who discusses and solves the problem for me.

However, shopping in the cyber-world is devoid of personal relationships with sales personnel and frequently very little, if any, customer service. With the rate at which virtual stores are springing up, without a "history" for consumers or even a mailing address, it's natural to be concerned about resolving customer service issues.

All too frequently when a consumer attempts to straighten out a problem regarding merchandise ordered via the Web, there is little or no response or the consumer finds he or she is communicating with a computer. In certain cases, the computer even sends a reply, but it's usually a dunning message that doesn't resolve the situation or satisfy the consumer.

Enter a company called WebAssured.com that may have found the answer to taking the kinks out of e-commerce. Headquartered in Carmel, IN, Webassured.com is an advocate for customers who have problems with online merchants.

Founded in 1995, the Web Assurance Board (WAB) was conceived as a modern online counterpart to the Better Business Bureau, certifying merchants and guaranteeing purchases. In July 1999, the Online Consumer Confidence Bureau, Inc. acquired WAB, renaming it WebAssured.com.

The company's current mission is to promote consumer trust, assist consumers and merchants in self-regulation to a universal standard of business ethics, and facilitate resolution of problems so the industry can avoid further governmental regulation. Based on its proven record of success, WebAssured.com may have created a formula for the future of successfully combating fraud online! WebAssured.com maintains an online database of approximately 40,000 companies that consumers can check to ascertain the credibility and reliability of an online merchant. The database records provide basic information about a merchant's background and location, information regarding whether the merchant belongs to the On-line Purchase Protection Program offered by WebAssured.com, positive and negative consumer comments about the merchant, and the results of disputes.

This protection program is available to merchants who join the WebAssured.com membership program, agree to conduct business according to pre-established criteria, abide by the results of arbitration via the Automated Dispute Resolution System (AdDResS) in a dispute, and hold membership insurance.

Looking to expand its function and resolve more complaints, WebAssured.com is actively seeking new members. According to President and CFO Travis Morgan, with about 1,800 members, WebAssured.com is averaging about 4.25 complaints for every 100 member firms per year, and has also facilitated several hundred complaints about non-member firms.

These members receive a WebAssured.com seal of approval and after six-months of approved behavior, are covered by WebAssured.com's promise that if a member does not resolve a dispute, WebAssured.com will refund the consumer's money. While the Member seal can be copied, the Click to Verify mechanism can not be duplicated and will verify whether a member is in good standing.

WebAssured.com members are required to continually analyze their service and make changes to improve unsatisfactory service and conditions, or they can be suspended and dropped from the program. When a company chronically disregards the approved criteria, the company is placed on The Watchlist, a listing available to consumers that bluntly outlines the problems and reliability concerns regarding that company. Comments from WebAssured.com staff outlining their experiences also appear on this list. When I last checked The Watchlist, there were 79 firms, some quite well known, among Web retailers. WebAssured.com does not refrain from releasing negative information if a company is a Webassured.com member or revoking membership if a company violates principals of its programs.

The methodology for problem resolution by WebAssured.com is simple. When a consumer with a problem contacts WebAssured.com, the company becomes the consumer's advocate, going to bat for him or her and attempting to resolve the dispute. WebAssured.com never charges the consumer a fee but relies instead on membership fees to fund its efforts. WebAssured.com receives both complaints and praise about companies all over the world, regardless of whether they are WebAssured members. The longer a problem remains unresolved, the more pressure WebAssured.com applies.

As e-commerce and related commerce grow, WebAssured.com has also undertaken an impressive anti-spam campaign. Having created an industry standard (the WebAssured International Remove List, or WIRL) for measuring e-mail advertising practices, WebAssured.com takes submissions from global consumers who wish to be removed from all companies' mass e-mail lists.

The WebAssured.com website has valuable information and links to other sites that impact systems security. But its most significant feature is its consumer advocacy. If e-business initiatives are likely to succeed, those retailers can thank WebAssured for creating some modicum of security for consumers as they venture into shopping online.
- Planet IT