FAQ

I don't want catalogues delivered. How do I stop them?

Either put a note on the Cat and leave it outside, or phone 07811 550086 and state your address and that you want them stopped. Alternatively, phone Customer Services on 0845 121 1010.

There are a plethora of service preference agencies, but these are not joined-up, as yet. The Mailing Preference Service block's junk mail, but only if delivered by the Royal Mail. Doorstep Selling companies generally subscribe to the DSA codes of conduct. Telephone and Fax solicitations can be cut by your network-provider's malicious calls number, or the Telephone Preference Service and Fax Preference Services offered by British Telecom. Spam in email comes from many countries, most of which have no system of dealing with this, so a software spam-filter of some sort (like deleting suspect messages without reading the contents first) is usually the most practical way.

Despite repeated requests, Catalogues are still delivered!

Are you sure they are Betterware Catalogues? Kleeneze is particularly bad for this sort of thing, and they are a separate company with no controls on this.
If they are Betterware Catalogues, please follow the procedure for complaints.

I don't want to leave catalogues with people who don't want them; I want to get straight to the potential customers who are interested. Inadvertently dropping them at other addresses takes up time I would rather be spending more productively.

How many people have asked to be excluded?

Customer confidentiality means I cannot say who specifically or where they live, but around 4% of addresses are on the 'blacklist', defined as people who go out of their way to refuse catalogues, or whom plunk them back out on the doorstep within minutes of delivery (which is probably why the blacklist is twice the size of the whitelist).
Interestingly, approximately 2% are on a 'whitelist', defined as people who go out of their way to request catalogues.
The other 94% of potential customers expressed no particular preference.

Both these lists are in constant flux, as people move house and buildings are built, subdivided, extended, and demolished.

What is the best way to leave Catalogues out?

In the bag (if provided), on the doorstep, with the order form showing through the bag or sticking out of the book. Preferably showing whether or not there is an order contained within, as this speed's up processing.

Isn't it cold/hot/windy/snowing/flooded out?

Yes, it is.

Would you like to come in?

No thanks, if I come in out of it, I'll be the wrong temperature when I go back out.
I'm used to the weather.

The only exception to this is when there's a gale or torriential downpour: Entering someone's porch is the only practical way not to get the reciept soaked or the price readable then.

I don't feel comfortable buying on the door.

Betterware is a Home Shopping company (sometimes called Direct Selling), not Doorstep Selling.

What's the difference between Home Shopping and Doorstep Selling?

For example; double glazing companies usually pester you on the doorstep (or indoors), Pizza delivery companies usually need an order in advance and only seek payment at the door. Betterware is akin to the Pizza companies.

Examples of Doorstep Selling (also called Door-to-Door Selling, or Buying on the Door) include:

Milkmen.
Parcelforce.
Taxis dropping you off at your door.
Impoverished art students "hawking" their sketches.

Examples of Direct Selling (also called Catalogue Selling) include:

Avon
Betterware

(Sorry about that; there don't seem to be many varieties.)

Additionally, some catalogue companies do not have their own delivery service, and use the Royal Mail (eg Coopers of Stortford, Innovations), and some do not drop their catalogue on the doorstep at all (eg Argos, Staples). There are very blurred lines between all these.

Are there many Home Shopping Companies?

There are about ten national companies, in order of size:

Betterware
Kleeneze (MLM, not bona fide)
Avon

The DSA maintains a full list.

Do you have independent consumer guidance information?

I have a copy of the DSA's leaflet "Shopping At Home" (which I must provide on request anyway). Converted to HTML [webpage] format, so you do not need to download anything to view it, and also it is now accessible to disabled and/or poorer customers, which has to help.

Do you have ID?

I only need official identification if I need to enter a customer's premises, which is never the case, so no.
When you have ordered, my proof of identity is returning the order form you filled out, for your use as a receipt.
Before you have considered ordering, my proof of identity is the Betterware logo and contact details on all the stationary I carry, and the logos on my bags.

If you still need confirmation, call the national Betterware number (using Directory Enquires), and give them my name (Robin Hodson), my Distributor number (333256), and your address. They will crosscheck those and answer any questions you may have.
No-one has asked this so far.

Aren't you cheating on your benefit by working like this?

I work Part-Time, and declare my hours and earnings on a B7 to Chippenham Job Centre. I am allowed to claim Job-Seeker's Allowance up to a certain number of hours and/or level of earnings.
When I switch to Full-Time working, I will Sign Off [benefits].

Infact, at least one of the benefit advisers I see in the Job Centre live's in my Round area, so there's no room for misdrawing.

Do you pay tax?

While I'm working Part-Time, my tax is automatically deducted from my benefit by the Job Centre. When I start Full-Time earning, I will owe about £2 a week/month to the Inland Revenue, registering either at Chippenham (Greenway Park).

What does the DSA badge signify?

Betterware is a founder member of the Direct Selling Association, the professional association for Direct Sellers.

And the "Approved Code"?

The DSA's code of conduct is approved by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT); an independent organisation operating under powered granted by government. The OFT is a statutory body established by the Enterprise Act, enforcing consumer protection and competition law, acting as a regulator of the market.

What happened to the 3D animated logo?

Er well, I spend a bit of time developing my own version of what I thought the official logo still was, before I actually rejoined, and now I have been told it's changed, so I've put the new one up instead.

Here's my old version:

-I may re-use that somewhere else later.
And the new one at the same size, for comparision:

I may produce a fancy version of the new logo, but later on.

Frequently Answered Questions