Are merchants obliged to honor their discounts?
Short Answer: Yes. They are contractually obligated.
Long Answer: Champion’s E-Z Discount Cards are a real “win-win-win”—for the youth organization that sponsors the cards, for the people in your community who purchase the cards for the great discounts that are offered, and for the merchants who advertise on the cards. Most merchants who advertise on discount cards have already advertised with Champion or with another discount card company, so they’re familiar with what discount cards can do for them. Nevertheless, we always make sure each merchant understands that cardholders may use their offer for a full year, and we require them to sign a “Merchant Agreement” whereby they agree to honor their discounts during that period. In addition, Champion does not contract with national account headquarters because your local franchisee may not be bound to honor those discounts—and we don’t want cardholders in your community complaining that your discount cards were not honored.
Furthermore, Champion will investigate any report of a merchant refusing to honor a discount, and we will notify the sponsoring organization and the customer—if we have their contact information—of our findings. The most common reasons a discount may not be honored by a merchant is because a cardholder violated a merchant’s store policy (such as a “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” policy), he was intoxicated or abusive, he attempted to use the card at an unauthorized location, he tried to use the card in combination with another offer, or because he tried to transfer the use of the card to a companion during the same merchant visit. There are restrictions printed on the discount card that allow the merchant to withhold his offer for any of these events. Keep in mind that the merchant is motivated to protect his business’ reputation in the community—not to mention that it is unlawful for him to not honor a bona fide offer that he made to the public. If you have ever heard that a merchant did not honor a discount card offer, then it is probable that either he did not contract directly with the discount card company, or the cardholder violated the card’s restrictions.
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