Distribution Back Checking Service -The DBC Online Partnership

Q. How does your system work?

A. We receive data from you or your distributors which should contain the details such as job number or reference, area being delivered to, the item(s) being delivered and a missed property list. We will then conduct our research before sending you the results.

Q. How does your system differ from face to face backchecking?

A. The quickest answer to that is to say that we are independent. Most face to face backchecking will be completed by the team - or a team manager - that is conducted during the delivery or shortly afterwards. This sometimes takes the form of asking a resident to sign for the received material. Whilst no method of backchecking is fool proof our form of backchecking is randomly based. Therefore, we select the roads from an area given and we select the households to call. This may well give a more informed result across the whole delivery area.

Q. How do I send data to you?

A. You can send it directly from this website and from your own pages within our website. You may also send it by e-mail or fax or give it to us over the telephone.This information can be sent by yourself, your distributors or any other person you nominate.

Q. When do you need the data?

A. As soon as possible following delivery. This would ideally be the same day to minimise the chance of people forgetting that they have had the item(s).

Q. What sort of results do I get from you?

A. Our standard checking service supplies you with the following results - Yes, No or Don't Know. Our Enhanced checking service allows you to receive responses to various questions that can be put on your behalf.

Q. Why don't I get house numbers back from you?

A. We do not give house numbers back to you as a rule. The is mainly to protect ourselves from possible legal ramifications regarding the provision of details to a third party. We conduct research only and are therefore allowed to contact people who are registered with the Telephone Preference Service. However, following an incident in the past (where we did provide house numbers) and we stated to the householder that we were only conducting research, the end client from the research contacted the household direct stating that they knew from the research they had been provided with that the household had received their advertising material and that they wanted to follow it up! We then had to deal with the trouble that followed. We have now adopted the attitude of "once bitten.....". It is possible however that we can provide these house numbers to you using an enhanced form of research. Please ask for details.

Q. What hours do you work?

A. Normally, our office is open from 9am until 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding Public Holidays). However, we operate a voice mail facility outside of these times and e-mails are viewed regularly. To ensure that your research is completed the same day, you must get your data to us at least 1 hour before we close.

Q. How do I receive my research results?

A. These are sent back to you normally by e-mail. They are also available to you in your own secure area of our wesbite. However, we are also happy to send your results by fax and if it is an urgent request we can supply the result by telephone or SMS message.

Q. Is your service confidential?

A. Yes. We will only ever discuss your results with you or someone else who you have nominated. We will never discuss the results with a third party without your prior consent.

Q. Do you have a minimum or a maximum requirement for research?

A. We do have a minimum requirement of 10 results and any maximum requirements would be discussed if necessary.

Q. How do I pay for your services and how much do they cost?

A. We have many methods of payment all of which we will be happy to discuss with you should you open an account with us. Our prices depend on how much you utilise our services. We operate a sliding scale of charges - the more you use us, the cheaper it becomes!

Q. Can I test your services?

A. Yes, you can. We can offer you a FREE, without obligation trial to test our

services out for yourself. Simply click the icon.