Nerdistan

Shopping on the net has become more and more popular, and is wonderful for the consumer - it’s made it effortless to buy things. Also, the increase in competition linked with low running costs has low prices for goods.

All The Same, as the online market has expanded, so too has the necessity to be cognizant of your consumer rights, and what to do if you find yourself with goods that you paid for but didn’t actually get or faulty items. Data is made public online, like the consumer protection act 1987.

Another consideration is which payment provider to use to buy your items, as each payment gateway has its own terms and conditions. To take an example, Paypal act as an independent judge only for physical goods, not digital downloads. Doing your research can stop you getting ripped off by internet fraud.

Our word to the wise is to do your research about the vendor : do they show their postal address and phone number? What is the vendor’s privacy policy? Their returns policy? Their terms? All these enquiries need to be addressed before you consider making a purchase from the vendor.

Another issue to think about: what are the methods of purchase? These days, it’s not enough to only look for “the padlock” (SSL certificate) - this doesn’t tell you how they store your information, only how it’s transmitted when you make the order. If in any doubt, only buy from vendors who use 3rd party payment providers such as PayPal, Google Checkout, WorldPay, SagePay and NoChex.You can also verify the reputation the seller has with his payment gateway, e.g. check his PayPal account and how many orders have happened on this individual account.