Shopping on the net has become more and more popular, and has been tremendous for the shopper – it’s made it very easy to shop. Not only that, but the increase in competition linked with low running costs has ensured low selling prices for goods.

Even So, as the online market has widened, so too has the need to be mindful of your rights as a consumer, and what you should do if you are in receipt of items that you paid for but didn’t actually get or faulty goods. Information is available online, such as the consumer protection act 1987.

Another consideration is which payment provider to use to pay for something, as each payment provider has its own terms. . Doing your homework can stop you getting cheated by internet scams.

Our word to the wise is to do your preparation regarding the seller : do they display their postal address and phone number? What is the seller’s terms and conditions? Their returns policy? Their privacy policy? All these questions must be resolved prior to considering making a purchase from the seller.

Another important point to consider: how is payment taken? Nowadays, it’s inadequate to merely look for an SSL certificate – this won’t inform you how they store your information, only how it’s sent when you make your purchase. If in any doubt, only purchase from sellers who use 3rd party payment providers such as Google Checkout, PayPal, SagePay, NoChex and WorldPay.Also you can see what reputation the seller has with his payment gateway, e.g. check his PayPal account and how many transactions have happened on this individual account.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am and is filed under Buyers + Consumers, Help + Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.