UK Online Shops and Shopping Information
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With modern technology shopping online has become a very safe affair. However there are still some general guidelines which should be adhered to. For the benefit of our visitors we have outlined some general tips which should be considered.
Either scroll down the page, or use the titles below to go direct to the section you are interested in reading.
General Tips| · | Shop with well-known retailers and services or personally recommended ones. Make sure you know the full postal address of the trader - be wary of dealing with any company, which only gives you a post office box number. |
| · | Remember to shop around (just as you would in the high street) for the best prices and service. You can use services such as kelkoo to help you. |
| · | Find out the company's refund and return policies before you place an order. Check how long delivery will take and if there are any guarantees. |
| · | Watch for additional charges such as customs duties, delivery and packaging. Some of these might not be obvious. |
| · | If there is anything you are not sure of, phone the company and ask for details of the product or service in writing, listing all the charges. |
| · | When purchasing within Europe, you may still be protected by some of your consumer rights under UK law, regardless of which country's laws are said to apply in the contract. |
| · | Online, the person you are dealing with can be anyone, based anywhere. Because it's easy to fake e-mail addresses, make sure you know who you're dealing with before you give out any personal information. |
| · | Always read the small print; and print out and save the contract and terms of business; it is very easy for the seller to change the wording on their web site after your purchase. Keep a copy (or take a note) of their advert/web page/e-mail. |
| · | If you are concerned about receiving unsolicited e-mail, try to find out how your personal details may be used. Many suppliers will explain how they will use private data within their privacy policy. If they don't have one beware. |
There are certain basic legal rights you have when you buy goods or services from a UK-based company. When you buy through the Internet you have as many rights in law as when you buy from a shop, street market, mail order catalogue or during sales.
The law states that goods must be:
| · | as described - on the web site. If you are told that a shirt is 100% cotton, then that is what it should be and not, for example, polyester and cotton. |
| · | of satisfactory quality - they must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as acceptable bearing in mind the way they were described, what they cost and any other relevant circumstances. This covers, for instance, the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety, and their durability. Goods must be free from defects, even minor ones, except when they have been brought to your attention by the seller for example, if the goods are said to be shop-soiled. |
| · | fit for their purposes, including any particular purpose mentioned by you to the seller - for example, if you are buying a computer game and you explain that you want one which can be played on a particular type of machine, the seller must not supply you with one that cannot. |
These are your statutory rights in the UK; defined by the law. All goods bought or hired from a trader - whether from shops, street markets, mail order catalogues or over the Internet - are covered by these rights. This includes goods bought in sales. If you have a complaint, bear in mind how the item was described. A new item must look new and unspoiled as well as work properly, but if the goods are secondhand, or seconds and are described as such, then you cannot expect perfect quality.
You have no real grounds for complaint if you:
· were told about a specific fault.
· did the damage yourself.
· made a mistake when purchasing the item.
· simply changed your mind about the item.
Under these circumstances you are not legally entitled to anything, but many traders may help out of goodwill. It is always worth asking.
Many traders have goodwill policies that go beyond your statutory rights. For example, some retailers will allow you to exchange goods which are not faulty, such as clothes which are the wrong size or are not the colour you want. You do not have a statutory right to this; the trader's policy will vary from retailer to retailer. Members of the Direct Marketing Association will allow customers to return goods within 7 days.
Guarantees do not affect your statutory rights but can be useful when your statutory rights no longer apply. Make sure you return the guarantee card and be sure you complain within the guarantee period.
If there is something wrong with what you buy, tell the seller as soon as possible. It is a good idea to e-mail or phone to let them know about your complaint. Make a written note of a phone conversation or take a copy of e-mail correspondence.
If you tell the seller promptly that the goods are faulty and you do not want them you should be able to get your money back. As long as you have not legally accepted the goods you can still reject them - that is, refuse to accept them. One of the ways you accept goods is by keeping them, without complaint, after you have had a reasonable time to examine them. What is reasonable is not fixed; it depends on all the circumstances. But normally you can at least try your purchase out at home. If, however, you delay in examining what you have bought, or in telling the seller about a fault, then you may lose your right to reject.
Note that if you signed an acceptance note on receiving goods this does not mean you have signed away your right to reject. You still have a reasonable time to examine them. Letting the seller try to put faulty goods right also has no effect on your rights - if the repair fails, you still have any right to reject that you had when you agreed to the repair.
Once you have, in the legal sense, accepted goods, you lose your right to a full refund. You can only claim compensation, and you have to keep your claim to a reasonable amount. Normally you have to accept an offer to put the goods right, or the cost of a repair. But if the faults in your goods cannot be put right, you are entitled to appropriate compensation. You may ask for a replacement as appropriate compensation, but the seller is not obliged to provide this.
Do not be put off by traders trying to talk their way out of their responsibilities.
| · | The law says it is up to the seller to deal with complaints about defective goods or other failures to comply with your statutory rights. So do not accept the excuse that 'it's the manufacturer's fault. But you may have additional rights against the manufacturer under a guarantee. · You have the same rights |
| · | when you buy goods in a sale as at any other time; the seller cannot get away with disclaimers saying there are no refunds on faulty sale goods. Think twice before you buy from a trader who displays a statement like this. It is against the law, and local authorities can prosecute the trader. |
| · | You have the same rights even if you lose your receipt, but the onus will be on you to prove where and when you bought the goods. A receipt is useful evidence. |
| · | You may be able to claim compensation if you suffer loss because of faulty goods. |
You are not bound by a standard term in a contract with a trader if it unfairly weights the contract against you. This applies particularly to exclusion clauses under which traders may try to escape their responsibilities. An example is 'No responsibility for loss or damage however caused'.
If an exclusion is unfair, it is legally void and cannot be used against you. Any exclusion of liability is always void if it is used for the purpose of evading liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
In contracts concluded between traders and consumers since 1 July 1995, other unfair terms may also be unenforceable. For example, clauses that try to stop you going to court over a dispute, terms which prevent you from withdrawing from a contract while allowing the trader to do so, and (most) clauses which give the trader the right to vary the terms of the contract (such as the price) without you having the right to withdraw.
It is up to the courts to decide if a term is unfair. If you think a term is unfair, you may wish to get advice from your local trading standards department or citizen's advice bureau, or write to the Director General of Fair Trading.
It is an offence for a supplier to sell goods which do not comply with product safety legislation. This applies to both new and secondhand products, but not to antiques or to goods needing repair or reconditioning, providing you were clearly informed of this fact. If you believe you have bought unsafe goods, you should contact the trading standards department of your local authority. Prompt action may help prevent accident or injury to other customers.
You have some extra protection if you buy the goods or services with a credit card.
If the supplier is made fully aware of a vital delivery deadline, then failure to abide by it could mean that you can cancel your order and ask for your money back. In other circumstances of delay, where a date has been specified, you should be able to make a claim for damages for breach of contract.
Where no definite date is given, goods should be delivered within a reasonable time in all the circumstances. If they are not, contact the seller to say that if the goods have not arrived by a certain date (for example, within a further two weeks) which is reasonable in all the circumstances you will not want them and will want your money back. But if you agree to give the seller extra time (for example, another month) you cannot change your mind and try to cancel your order before that extra time is up.
The Advertising Standards Authority supervises a code of practice (the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion) which includes specific rules on delivery times for ordered goods.
Make sure you know all the conditions regarding price. You may have agreed to pay any increase which takes place between ordering and delivery, or perhaps you will have agreed a fixed price. Be sure you know whether there are extra charges for postage and packing, and if so what they are. Quotes should include elements such as VAT, delivery charges and fitting charges.
Consumer use of the Internet is being held back by concerns over the security of the payments made over the Internet. This issue includes both the actual risks of fraud and consumer perceptions of that risk.
There is a risk of your credit card details being intercepted - or at least read - in transit on the Internet and being fraudulently used. Of course such a risk already exists when cards are used in other circumstances. For example when a restaurant bill is paid (where the credit card is taken away for checking) or where tickets are booked over the phone, there is always the risk that someone may take your details for fraudulent use later.
Some web sites address consumer concerns about sending payment details electronically by offering a telephone service so that payment details can be taken, or the contract established, on the phone. Other sites offer you the option of sending your credit card details via a secure (encrypted) page. Some sites may suggest payment through pre-payment smart cards - the (so-called) virtual cash of the Internet. These have the advantage that payments can be made for small transactions and that they do not normally need all the authorisation checks required for credit cards.
How can you tell if your card details are safe in transit?
You can never be totally sure. However, you can take a few simple steps to enhance your own confidence. Many major web retailers offer you the option of sending your credit card details via a secure (encrypted) page. You should aim to make purchases with companies offering this facility. Remember though, this only protects your card details in transit; as with any other credit card purchase, the security of your card details ultimately lies in the hands of the retailer.
Your browser will tell you whether the page you are on is secure. Often it will flash up a warning on the screen as you enter a secure page. If you are using Microsoft or Netscape browsers (and the chances are that you will be) you'll see a closed-padlock symbol in the status bar at the bottom of your screen. If such a padlock is not there, then it may be a good idea to seek other assurances about the legitimacy of the site.
We hope you find this information useful whilst shopping online.
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Safe Shopping Online
Patricia T.
UK Shops & Shopping Guide