Shopping websites breaking the rules

23 October 2008

Three in ten of the most visited online shops are getting the simplest selling rules wrong*, reveals which.co.uk as it releases details of its biggest survey yet into online shopping**.

Of the 51 online shops covered by the survey, 16 failed to comply with at least one of the key shopping rules. Online retailers should refund the full cost of an order if goods are returned – including the original postage charges to deliver the shopping***. According to their own websites, next.co.uk, fragrancedirect.co.uk and empiredirect.co.uk fail to do so.

Another common pitfall was getting the cancellation period wrong****. Websites including orange.co.uk and homebase.co.uk***** wrongly state that customers have seven working days from the delivery date to cancel their order, when in fact they have up to eight working days.

However, buying online has its perks. Which.co.uk researchers were able to save over £50 buying electrical goods online instead of at a high street store******. Some retailers also offer extended returns limits for Christmas presents bought online, so customers should check the terms before buying.

In the Which? survey of more than 8,000 members, skincare website Lizearle.com received the highest customer score of 95%. Other retailers that came top in their categories were Abebooks.co.uk, Amazon.co.uk, Figleaves.com, Virginmobile.com, Johnlewis.com and Wiggle.co.uk*******.

Jess Ross, Editor, which.co.uk, says:

“The benefits of shopping online are great – you can save time, money and see a whole range of products all at the click of a button. However, it’s worrying that some of these websites are getting simple shopping rules wrong and putting their customers at a disadvantage.”

Full details on how each of the 51 online retailers performed are available at http://www.which.co.uk/onlineretailers

- Ends –

Notes to Editor

Which? is the leading independent consumer champion in the UK, providing impartial, expert information on thousands of products and services to help make individuals as powerful as the organisations they have to deal with in their daily lives. To find out more go to www.which.co.uk.

For further information, the full article and report, or an interview, please contact Nicole Gross.

Gift subscriptions to Which? magazine can now be purchased from Borders, priced at £29.97 for six issues.

Research Notes

*In October 2008 Which? assessed the websites of the 51 online retailers covered in the Which? survey of online retailers (see**) to determine whether they were complying with the Distance Selling Regulations and Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations. Which? looked to see whether cancellation rights and returns policies were stated, and whether these complied with the regulations.

**In June and July 2008 Which? asked 8,380 online panel members how satisfied they were with websites they used to shop online in the past six months, and how likely they would be to recommend them. The combined results created the Which? customer scores.
Members also rated websites for ease of finding products, range availability, price, ordering process, delivery and returns.

***Companies can make customers pay for the cost of returning the goods if they’re returned because the customer has simply changed their minds about them.

****Under the DSRs customers can cancel an order anytime before and up to seven working days from the day after they receive their shopping i.e. a total of eight working days

*****The other websites that had incorrect information about the cancellation period were thebookpeople.co.uk, toy retailer Elc.co.uk, clothing shop Landsend.co.uk and electrical website empiredirect.co.uk

******On 22 and 23 September, researchers shopped in three major areas of the country to collect high-street prices for a list of products. The price quoted is the typical price found across a range of stores. An online comparison was done on the same days. All online prices include the standard delivery charge. For retailers with both high-street and online versions, the high-street is the best way to avoid a delivery charge

*******PICK OF THE CLICKS