Sogo suspends its membership card benefits ... for now

Around members of Pacific Sogo Department Store's membership club will no longer be able to enjoy discounts and other preferential deals when making purchases at the retail chain's seven outlets, Sogo chairwoman Chung Chin (鍾琴) said at a press conference yesterday.

Nor they redeem their bonus-points for free gifts at this time, she added.

"We apologize to the affected customers, but as a law-abiding company, we have to observe the court order," Chung said.

The press conference was held yesterday evening in response to a ruling by the Taiwan High Court earlier in the day, which stated that Pacific Sogo membership cards, or "point cards" (集利卡), shall be nullified and the issuance of such cards suspended.

The order was a result of a ruling in favor of Cathay United Bank, which applied for a preliminary injunction against Pacific Sogo late last month.

TEMPORARY

"This situation will only be temporary, as we'll appeal the case to the Taiwan Supreme Court within the next two days," Chung said.

Pacific Sogo formerly cooperated with Cathay United Bank to jointly issue Sogo credit cards, which provided users with at most a 10 percent discount on purchases at Sogo, as well as a point collection system.

After Far Eastern Group became the major shareholder in the nation's second-largest department-store operator in September 2002, it found the original contract flawed and decided to issue membership cards in February this year.

Pacific Sogo further suspended offering free gifts and preferences to credit card holders in April, thereby damaging their rights and interests, according to the suit.

This triggered Cathay United Bank's initiation of legal proceedings.

"I must stress that we have not violated the contract [with Cathay United Bank], as the membership cards are neither debit cards nor credit cards.

safeguards

The cards only allow us to collect members' information and establish a data base," Chung said.

Chung they would continue to negotiate with their former partner to safeguard customers.

As the department store's anniversary sale starts today, Chung said the points derived from membership-card holders' purchases would be recorded, which could then be redeemed for free gifts if the court order is overthrown.

"Furthermore, from June 15 to June 20, as long as customers spend at least NT$500 in our outlets, they can bring home a free gift whether they have our membership card or not," said Lee Kuang-rong (李光榮), vice president and spokesman of Pacific Sogo.

As the legal battle might drag on for months, the Consumers' Foundation suggested that Pacific Sogo present complementary measures to protect card holders according to Article 7 of the Consumer Protection Law (消保法), said foundation secretary general Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏).

"If they fail to do so, consumers can file complaints with the foundation," he said.