Community guidelines

The Community areas include member comments and reviews on our reports and news items on consumer.org.nz, members' ratings of products and services, and other channels for members to interact that we may provide.

Community moderation

Our website is designed with review, comment and share functionality to allow interaction between Consumer NZ members on current topics of consumer interest.

Consumer NZ staff will review Community contributions, and moderate where necessary to maintain focus, assist with references to our information, remove possible defamatory or abusive comments, and to ensure that our guidelines are respected.

We encourage in-depth exploration of important consumer issues among members, and our experts may join in occasionally to add new information and perspective. However, Consumer NZ staff responsibilities as testers, writers, and editors limit their availability for extended dialogue.

We reserve the right to remove or edit any comments from consumer.org.nz that we believe breach our guidelines, and to remove member access rights to consumer.org.nz where necessary.

Community rules

Show respect to others
Be polite and respect different points of view. Please do not swear or use insulting or offensive language. This applies to posts or replies, and any contact with Consumer NZ staff or other Consumer NZ members. Be aware that what you consider ironic or witty may not always seem so to others.

Stay on the topic
Please ensure that your posts are relevant to the topic under discussion.

No commercial promotion
You are welcome to post your views on specific products and services on consumer.org.nz but we ask that consumer.org.nz is not used to promote or advertise any products or services. If you have a commercial or financial interest in a product or service under discussion, you should disclose this as part of any post you make.

Use your judgement
We can't vouch for the accuracy or quality of comments posted on consumer.org.nz. You must use your own judgement to assess the usefulness of what you read there.

Copyright
Post only material that is yours, or where you have the express permission of the copyright owner.

Safety
Comments that promote unsafe practices or information are not permitted.

No spamming or malicious links
The same or similar message posted more than once may be considered spam and removed. Please do not post links to objectionable or irrelevant sites, or malicious code.

Reporting abuse
If you see a comment you believe breaches these guidelines, please notify us by emailing feedback@consumer.org.nz or call Customer Services on 0800 266 786.

Privacy and legal matters

Privacy
When you submit a comment on consumer.org.nz, your username is shown with your comment. You can set up or change your username in your My Consumer profile at any time.

We do not publicly display any other personal information on consumer.org.nz. We strongly advise that you do not post your email address, home address, or phone number as part of your contributions on consumer.org.nz. See our Privacy policy for more information.

Use of your posts
Any messages you post on consumer.org.nz may be used by Consumer NZ. We reserve the right to copy or quote them here or in other media.

New Zealand laws apply
New Zealand laws apply to our contribution areas. Please do not suggest or encourage illegal activity.