Non-Compliance Cost Recovery Charges

I. Overview 

The Agreement sets out your performance obligations. Where you fail to comply with those obligations, Groupon suffers damages. Non-Compliance Cost Recovery Charges (“NCCR Charges”) are Groupon’s tool to recover these damages from you due to your breach of your obligations. Payment of the NCCR Charges does not release you from the instructions and/or obligations set out in the Agreement.

In the event that Groupon takes the view that you breached one or more obligations of the Agreement, Groupon reserves the right to deduct from payments due to you (or you shall pay Groupon, if no payments are due) the amounts corresponding to the breach, as set out in the Agreement and as specified in these guidelines. Please note that you  may be charged NCCR Charges for more than one breach per unit sold under the Agreement.

A detailed summary of NCCR Charges that Groupon applies is listed below. Groupon will amend and/or update these guidelines from time to time, in its sole discretion. Such amendments may include additional elements of the NCCR process. Any amendment to these guidelines shall be considered as agreed by your continuing to use the Marketplace Service.  Groupon will provide you with at least 14 days’ notice of any amendments.  

II. Applicable NCCR Charges

Although any breach of one or more instructions and/or obligations of the Agreement can result in a NCCR Charge, Groupon reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine which NCCR Charges to charge you. The NCCR Charges that Groupon currently chooses to apply are the following:

1. Invalid Tracking Upload (ITU)

2. Outside Shipping Window (OSW)

3. Out of Stock (OOS)

4. CS Service Level (CSL)

Each NCCR Charge is set at EUR 4 or GBP 4 per order. The currency will depend on the country in which the order is made.

If Groupon changes the breach categories for which it will charge NCCR Charges, it will immediately communicate this to you via email.

A. Invalid Tracking Upload (ITU):

You are required to upload Shipment Tracking Information in accordance with the time periods set out in Deal Centre or, in the case of bulky shipments, CommerceInterface. An NCCR Charge may be applicable if :

• Shipment Tracking Information is uploaded outside of the time period set out in Deal Centre.

• Click-to-ship (CTS) is greater than 24 hours, or otherwise agreed service levels. For tracked orders, Groupon will monitor the time taken from the customer’s purchase to the order being dispatched by you. An order is only considered dispatched once the carrier has collected and/or scanned the order.

• Tracking is invalid. This includes, but is not limited to, selecting an inaccurate carrier code in CommerceInterface (CI), using a duplicate tracking code or uploading a tracking code which is inactive (no movement shown).

• Order is shipped using an unapproved carrier. Groupon will provide the Merchant with a list of approved carriers for delivering Goods.

• Customer phone number request is made outside of the time period set out in CommerceInterface for tracking upload. For bulky shipments where a customer phone number is required and is either missing or invalid, this should be requested by you to the customer via Groupon's 3-way ticketing tool. This ticket should be raised within the time period set out in CommerceInterface for tracking upload.

If you do not upload the Shipment Tracking Information within the agreed time period, Groupon may issue a NCCR Charge for each unit that has been uploaded too late. Please note that shipping the order on time but not uploading Shipment Tracking Information will also result in an NCCR Charge. For the avoidance of doubt, this also applies in the event that you are entitled to ship the products by not using a tracking number (so called “non tracking number”). In such an event, you shall upload the non tracking number within the same time as agreed for uploading a tracking number.

Example:

• 100 units sold

• 80 tracking number(s) uploaded within the prescribed time period

• 20 units not uploaded within the prescribed time period NCCR Charge: 20 units x EUR/GBP 4 = EUR/GBP 80.

B. Outside Shipping Window (OSW):

For each order delivered outside of the Expected Delivery Date, which results in Groupon refunding the customer, you will receive an Outside Shipping Window (OSW) NCCR Charge.

Example:

• 200 units sold

• 10 units refunded due to missed delivery windows. NCCR Charge: 10 units x EUR/GBP 4 = EUR/GBP 40.

C. Out of Stock (OOS):

If you cannot provide the stock as agreed in Deal Centre, Groupon shall apply an NCCR Charge per unit of customer orders that you promised, but are unable to deliver. The charge is still applicable if the order is cancelled under a different reason or is not cancelled and the customer is refunded for an alternative reason. 

Example:

• 200 units agreed as the Option Cap

• 180 units sold

• 20 units cannot be fulfilled and cancelled for shortages. NCCR Charge: 20 units x EUR/GBP 4 = EUR/GBP 80.

D. CS Service Level:

Customers will utilise Groupon’s 3-way ticketing tool in order to house communication between customers, Groupon and you. Groupon will expect you to reply to and resolve any requests in accordance with the time periods set out in the Agreement, failure to do so will result in an NCCR Charge. An NCCR Charge will also be applied in scenarios where Groupon is forced to intervene to resolve the customer dispute.

This NCCR Charge is applicable, regardless of the outcome of the refund decision by Groupon’s Customer Service department.  Example:

• 10 refund requests made by customers

• 5 customers' requests are not responded to within the agreed period. NCCR Charge: 5 units x EUR/GBP 4 = EUR/GBP 20.

III. Multiple NCCR Charges

If you breach multiple instructions and/or obligations of the Agreement, there will be multiple NCCR Charges.

Example: -100 units sold 10 units are deemed to be Invalid Tracking Uploads (10 units x EUR/GBP 4 = EUR/GBP 40) and 5 units were refunded for Outside Shipping Window (5 units x EUR/GBP 4 = 20 EUR/GBP). NCCR Charge: EUR/GBP 40 + EUR/GBP 20 = EUR/GBP 60

IV. FAQs

• Can you dispute the decision to impose NCCR Charges?

Yes, you can dispute the decision to charge an NCCR Charge within 10 business days from the day Groupon notifies you of the NCCR Charge.

If the NCCR Charge has already been applied, you should respond to the applicable Payment Statement email where these charges were outlined (sent from paymentstatements@groupon.com). Alternatively, you can contact the Merchant Services (MS) team to request a copy of a previous Payment Statement.

• How are NCCR Charges recovered by Groupon?

Groupon will withhold the amount of any NCCR Charge from the next payment owed to you. If you are not due any payments, Groupon will issue an invoice to you for the amount of the NCCR Charge.

• Currency of the NCCR Charge?

The currency of NCCR Charges will depend on the country in which the order was made.