Worksheet: Walk your own checkout as a customer

Fees and "was" prices creep in one campaign at a time. This sheet walks each channel as a customer would, lists every fee and "was" price, and fixes anything that fails the rules this month. It builds the Competent step of the check:

The first price shown includes every fee the customer cannot avoid, and every 'was' price was charged for a real period before the sale.

The rules in plain words. Under the Australian Consumer Law, the first price you show must include every fee a customer cannot avoid. A "was" price must be one you actually charged for a reasonable period just before the sale. When two prices are displayed for the same item, the customer is entitled to the lower one. Ask your lawyer where a case is unclear.

Step 1. The walk

Buy something in each channel, from the first price to the payment screen.

Channel	Product	First price shown	Fees added before payment	Could the customer avoid each fee?	Total paid	Same as the first price?
e.g. Website	Standard service	$89	Booking fee $6.50	No	$95.50	No

Step 2. Every "was" and "compare at" price

Product	"Was" price shown	Weeks sold at that price in the 12 weeks before the sale	Units sold at it	Passes?

Step 3. Fix it this month

Issue	Rule it fails	Fix	Owner	Fixed by
e.g. Booking fee added at payment	Unavoidable fee missing from the first price	Fold the fee into the headline price	Head of digital	30 June

Done when: the first price in every channel includes every fee a customer cannot avoid, and each "was" price has sales records behind it.

Written for this check.