Introduction
The Internet is an exciting tool that puts vast information at your fingertips.With the click of a mouse you can buy an airline ticket, book a hotel, and arrange a parachute jump for the next day. Good deals, convenience, and choice abound on the Internet. Furthermore, shopping online offers lots of benefits that you wont find shopping in a store or by mail. The Internet is always open 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days of the year. However, just like shopping in the high street there can be problems so its important to know what to look out for and what your rights are.
Rights
In fact many of your rights when buying online from a UK-based company are exactly the same as when buying from a shop. The Office of Fair Trading has produced a quick guide outlining these rights that can be downloaded from the following link:
Shoppers Rights - your quick guide
In addition, when shopping on the internet you are also entitled to:
clear information about the goods or services offered before you buy
written confirmation of this information after you have made your purchase
a 7 day cooling off period during which an order can be cancelled without any reason and a full refund made
a full refund if the goods or services are not provided by the date you agreed. If you didn't agree a date, then you are entitled to a refund if the goods or services are not provided within 30 days.
N.B. There are cases where these additional rights do not apply; particular care should be taken when purchasing financial services and when participating in online auctions.
