The internet provides us with a wide variety of products and services to choose from and the comfort to buy from home any time of the day, seven days a week.
The internet is also a great place to compare products and prices and therefore make good deals. This is all beneficial to us consumers, but we must also be aware that if we do not take certain precautions, we may end up wasting our hard-earned money.
Hence, before clicking the buy button, we need to take certain precautions with regards to the type of goods we buy, who we buy them from and the method we choose to pay. For instance, if we are interested in purchasing a particular product or service, we should make sure that the seller has provided a clear description of the goods or services we are about to buy and we should also be provided with information on existing after-sales services and commercial guarantees.
If we are interested in purchasing clothing and footwear, we should be careful and ensure that we select the correct size because if we don’t, even though the law gives us the right to cancel the sale and claim a refund, unless the item of clothing has arrived damaged or defective, we will have to pay for the return of the unwanted good to the seller.
If we are about to buy from a seller for the first time, we should gather as much information as we can on who the seller is, where he operates from and how to get in contact with him. We should not rely on just an e-mail or web address but look out for a customer service telephone number and a geographical address.
The best way to find a reputable seller is through recommendation from a trusted source. Hence we should look out for independent customer reviews to ensure that the seller is responsible and trustworthy.
It is also our responsibility to check out the ordering procedure, with information on when and how the goods will be delivered. In the terms and conditions there could be clauses that allow the supplier a longer time to deliver the goods ordered, depending on the country where the consumer wants the goods to be delivered.
Before giving credit card details, we must ensure that the web page is secure
If no delivery date is specified and the purchase is made from an EU member country, then by law the supplier should send the goods within a maximum period of 30 days from the day following the date of order. If this does not happen, as consumers we are entitled to cancel the order and request full refund of any money paid.
Before making an order we should make sure that we have all information on how much we are going to pay and whether there are any shipping or handling charges. In other words, we should know exactly how much the product or service is going to cost us.
The seller is also obliged to inform us about the different payment methods. We should be wary of sellers who request us to wire money directly into their bank accounts. We should instead opt to pay by credit card or through a secure payment site such as Paypal.
However, before giving our credit card details, we must ensure that the web page is secure. This can be done by checking that there is a closed padlock symbol on the web page. Additionally, the web address should start with ‘https’ where the letter ‘s’ stands for secure. After processing the payment, we should check our credit card statement carefully to make sure we have been billed correctly. We should also save a copy of our order and of the confirmation e-mail we receive when we finalise the order.
Regarding cancellation rights we should keep in mind that when we buy from a trader that operates from an EU Member State, we have a 14-day cooling-off period which gives us the right to return items without a reason and request full refund. The only charge we may be liable to pay is the direct cost of returning the unwanted goods back to the seller.
We should not forget that should we purchase defective or non-conforming goods, as online shoppers we are entitled to claim a free remedy from the seller, which may be either repair or replacement, or else part of full refund of the money paid.
odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt
Odette Vella is director, Information, Education and Research Directorate, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.