Leader: Time to act on website charges

WITH every month that passes, use of the internet for the ordering and purchasing of goods and services rises inexorably.

It is fuelled by two considerations: convenience (literally "armchair shopping") and the perception of cost savings: that responding through the internet would result in savings to the consumer. While this has proved to be true in many instances, the internet has also enabled opportunists to intervene and gain fees and commissions for services that are actually available for free.

There has been a growing stream of complaints over websites run by intermediaries charging for services which are available free from the government. Typical examples are the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which gives travellers free health cover in Europe, and services offered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Department of Health. So the news that the Office of Fair Trading is to investigate these sites will be welcomed by many. Last year it took enforcement action against four online traders who deceptively sold EHICs to consumers. But complaints have continued to flow in.

While this investigation takes its course, it would be to the benefit of consumers confronted with a welter of confusing and official-seeming websites offering such services were the bona fide government websites to emphasise more clearly than they do that services ordered direct from government departments or through their websites are free. As electronic shopping becomes ever more crowded and confusing, every little helps.