Confusion Arrives On DTV Coupon Program, Retail Briefing Suggests
Though the law says consumers may request DTV converter box coupons from NTIA beginning Jan. 1, 2008, NTIA already has begun receiving coupon requests from consumers, retailers were told in a conference call briefing Wed. sponsored by the CE Retailers Coalition (CERC) and NARDA.
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Participation in the coupon program is voluntary, said CERC’s counsel, Robert Schwartz. “The government is not requiring any retailers to do this. However, if retailers don’t do it, we've got a big problem on our hands, and you're going to be hearing from your customers about that.” Registering at the govt.’s central contractor website (www.ccr.gov.) will qualify retailers to be reimbursed for coupons they accept through electronic funds transfer (ETF) payments, Schwartz said. It’s the “first step” that interested retailers should take to apply for certification in the NTIA program, he said.
Retailers also should e-mail or fax NTIA to indicate their interest, NTIA has said. Retailer certification begins June 1 this year and runs through March 31, 2008, NTIA’s final rules say. Registering at the website “does not mean, we believe, that you are a government contractor -- you'd have to jump through a bunch more hoops,” Schwartz said. “So we don’t think any of the other legal requirements on government contractors are involved. This is simply a way to let the government pay you quickly and electronically.” Certifying as a coupon retailer means “you're able to run this electronic system” at the point of sale (POS) that NTIA’s vendor will design and install, Schwartz said. NTIA’s database of distributed coupons and eligible boxes “takes care of the rest,” he said.
In Q&A, a retailer said he was concerned because his company’s electronic POS system won’t support coupon cards with magnetic strips. NTIA has said issues like that will be left up to the vendor to work out with retailers. The only requirement is that vendors ensure the coupons are “electronically trackable,” the agency has said. Schwartz said online retailers also will be encouraged to participate in the program. (Amazon is a CERC member.) For an online transaction, a consumer may be asked to key in a numerical code manually that’s unique to each coupon, he said. Cumbersome as it may sound, a retailer whose POS system lacks the ability to read magnetic strips might also need to key in a code, Schwartz said.
That participating retailers were told they will need to register with the govt. to qualify for ETF payments raised red flags with one retailer questioner. The merchant seemed to misconstrue www.ccr.gov. as CERC’s website and to think CERC was a govt. program retailers must join to be certified. NTIA has said its rules make no such requirement. The confusion spurred Schwartz to promise that CERC’s site will put step-by-step tutorials on its public site instructing retailers -- members and nonmembers -- how to seek certification.