Pamela Abbott: If your web buys don't turn up who do you turn to?

Published on Sunday 14 December 2008 18:31

WITH Christmas just around the corner, all but the most organised or Scrooge-like among us are probably going to get whipped into the usual last-minute buying frenzy over the coming days. A large amount of that shopping will be done online.

Strangely, many people will buy products online from companies they know next to nothing about, as long as their virtual shop "looks legit".

The unexplained, but almost instinctive, trust many seem to have for companies selling goods online, coupled with the perception that, provided items are paid for by credit card, the purchaser is protected, feeds the exponential growth in our desire to shop online. Yet, before you click and splash your cash, it is worth pausing to ask how much the law will help if you make a bad online purchase.

Under consumer credit legislation, if you have spent between 100 and 30,000 on goods or services, and there is a breach of contract by or misrepresentation made by the supplier of those goods or services, you can opt to claim from your credit card provider, who is liable alongside the supplier.

This would cover, for example, the situation where you pay for goods that do not arrive or for defective goods.

Except with a very obvious rogue, it is usually still advisable to try to resolve the claim with the supplier first – simply because this may be the easiest and quickest route to a satisfactory outcome.

However, despite what some credit companies may tell you, you do not have to go after the supplier first. That said, if you do look for the claim to be met by the credit card company, do not expect them to roll over and pay up. They may play hard ball, particularly in the current financial climate. But if you are sure you have a legitimate claim, you must stick to your guns.

Making a claim can be a tricky and lengthy process, and there are many limitations to the usefulness of this legal right. For instance, under the rules governing distance selling, you will usually have the right to cancel a contract within certain periods and to receive a full refund within 30 days of that cancellation.

But, if that refund is not forthcoming, the law is not clear on whether that amounts to a breach of contract that would have to be covered by the credit card company.

In this situation, and depending on the value of the transaction, you could raise a small claims action against the supplier. However, while relatively cheap (depending on how much you have spent online), you may face headaches if, for example, the supplier is based outside Scotland.

Another issue is that many webshoppers do not use their credit card to pay the supplier at all. This is because they use internet payment service companies such as Paypal (to avoid giving their card details to suppliers). This makes a critical difference in that the credit card company is dealing with the payment service company and not the supplier, which means the consumer credit protection does not apply and the payment service company and credit company are not legally obliged to help you.

If you paid using a debit card, the consumer credit protection again does not apply. Here the threat of reporting the supplier to Trading Standards for breaching the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (if these apply to your case) may persuade them to co-operate.

These regulations came into force this year and imposed an obligation on businesses not to trade unfairly (breach can lead to criminal sanctions). They are wide reaching and designed to protect against a multitude of sins by traders, such as making misleading statements and aggressive sales tactics.

Hopefully, over time, the enforcement of these regulations will improve standards and lessen the occurrence of dodgy dealing generally.

That said, in the context of web-commerce, it always pays to remember that the web knows no geographical boundaries and UK and European law can only stretch so far. One very sensible step is to Google the supplier. If the hits you get include the BBC's Watchdog or similar, be on your guard.

In short, be careful where you buy your Christmas presents or you may find the holiday season starts off with a whimper of anguish rather than the bang you hoped for.

&#149 Pamela Abbott is a solicitor with CCW Business Lawyers