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Courses Advertising Guidelines

We expect advertisers on reed.co.uk to offer our users the highest quality service and experience. To this extent, we have put together a list of guidelines to make advertisers aware of what we consider to be best practices. Please note that any breach of these guidelines will entitle Reed to terminate the Client’s account and Services immediately.

Information to be provided by the Client to Reed, in order for Reed to set up the advertiser account.

  • A live website e.g. www.reed.co.uk
  • A link to the advertiser’s Terms & Conditions, which must reflect the brand name. In the case of advertiser operating under multiple brands, T&Cs must be provided for each brand separately, with the website domain matching the brand under which the provider chooses to advertise on reed.co.uk
  • Email addresses:
    • One email which reed.co.uk will use to contact the Client directly (Account Managers, Customer service team)
    • One email address which reed.co.uk will provide to users who made enquiries or bought courses offered by the Client.

Notes:

    • both email addresses need to match the website domain
    • both email addresses need to be active and incoming emails must be responded to within 24hours of receipt during working days.
    • Both email addresses can be identical, providing the 2nd email address isn’t a personal email address e.g. john@provider.com
  • Phone numbers:
    • 1 phone number which reed.co.uk will use to contact the Client directly (Account Managers, Customer service team)
    • 1 phone number which reed.co.uk will provide to customer who made enquiries or bought courses offered by the Client.
    • Opening hours during which the provider is contactable by phone

Notes:

    • both phone numbers need to be UK landline numbers. No premium numbers.
    • both numbers need to be active during specified opening hours
    • both phone numbers can be identical
  • Company incorporation number (if they are a limited company) (you can check here https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/)
  • Providers required to sign a direct debit mandate must provide a nominative email address with a domain name similar to the business they represent, and which belongs to personnel authorised to sign such documents. Examples of such email addresses include janesmith@provider.com, j.smith@provider.com, jane.s@provider.com

Service quality expectations

  • Providers are expected to communicate with users in a professional and timely manner.
  • Providers are expected to respond within 24 hours (excluding weekends) to:
    • Course seeker enquiries (sent by email)
    • Questions from course seekers sent by email (From Q&A feature)
  • Providers are expected to respond within 48 hours (excluding weekends) to:
    • Requests for login details for users who purchased a course on eCommerce.
    • Requests for refunds from users who purchased a course on eCommerce.

Advertising guidelines

Providers are expected to provide reed.co.uk with accurate data, and the following have to be adhered to in particular:

  • Prices must include VAT.
  • All fees charged by the Client in relation to the advertised course must be included in the price displayed on the course listings (e.g. Admin fees, Exam fees, Membership fees, Certificate fees…).
  • Clients are expected to be 100% transparent in terms of what is included in the course and the price. For example: exams, awarding body membership, admin fees, tutoring, certification fees, course materials, TOTUM card, etc.
  • Any responses by Course Providers in relation to Courses advertised on reed.co.uk must be in relation to the Course(s) as advertised on reed.co.uk (including the price it is advertised at) only and may not be used as an opportunity to “up-sell” the Course(s) by offering paid for extras not advertised on reed.co.uk or alternative courses.
  • Discounts: the period of time for which the discounted price will be available should not be excessive in order for the listing to become misleading, As a general rule, a listing may not be placed at a discounted price, for a period longer than the product was on sale at the original price. Also, clients should not artificially inflate the original price to make the discount appear better more attractive. (Taken from the ASA: https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/promotional-savings-claims.html)
  • Clients should not advertise courses at a price which is abnormally lower than their usual retail price on their own websites, for the sole purpose of enrolling students at the lowest possible cost, with a view to then upsell more expensive products.
  • Clients may only advertise a course as an apprenticeship if it is delivered by an Approved apprenticeship provider (as per https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-of-apprenticeship-training-providers)
  • Clients shall only advertise a course as a regulated course if it the qualification(s) and awarding organisation(s) are regulated by Ofqual and CCEA (as per https://register.ofqual.gov.uk/)
  • If a course advertised on reed.co.uk leads to a Qualification, the course listing must explicitly state how this qualification can be obtained (e.g. an exam must be undertaken, etc)
  • The Client must not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party by reproducing, copying, modifying, adapting, publishing, transmitting, or distributing any material which belongs to a third party.
  • Clients shall not mislead users with phrases such as “Best-selling course”, “Best Price Guarantee”, “Price Match Guarantee” or similar. This is applicable to all parts of the course listing, including course title, subtitle and description.
  • Duplicate content is not allowed on reed.co.uk. For example, a course available in multiple locations must be listed as a single course.
  • Clients must not use “keyword stuffing” (artificially increasing the density of a certain keyword) to try and improve their listing rank in reed.co.uk
  • Clients must not use the Reed name in their listings. (Clause 16 of existing terms)
  • Clients must not encourage or incentivise (whether in a course listing posted or otherwise) users of the Website to obtain or purchase any of the courses listed on the Website from alternative sources. (Clause 17 of existing terms)
  • Each course must have a valid title. For example, the following naming conventions are not valid:
    • Promotional phrases: “Best-selling course on reed.co.uk”
    • Prices in course titles: “Admin, Secretarial & PA Diploma – Only £44!”
    • Using a title which isn’t a course: “Guide to Making Money”
    • Discounts or purchase opportunities, such as: “Pet Care Diploma *TOTUM Pro Card Eligible* – £25% off”
  • Clients must not include its contact details or website details in the course listings and/or business profile to appear on the Website. (Clause 18 of existing terms)
  • Clients can only advertise genuine training courses. “Work placements” and “Job guarantees” opportunities may not be advertised.

Please note that Reed will conduct mystery shopping exercises from time to time to ensure compliance with the guidelines set out in this guide.