Consumer Advocate: Increasing complaints and problems in online shopping

The Independent Authority "Consumer Advocate”Has recently received a very large number of written reports and telephone calls complaints on problems that consumers face with online shopping in particular technology products.

ΣIn particular, consumers complain about the improper execution of their orders by online stores, which sell their products at very preferential prices in relation to the competition, attracting a large number of interested customers, as is the case with the so-called "bark products". .

As found by the Authority, some of these stores do not deliver the products within the agreed time on a case by case basis and constantly postpone the delivery time to future dates, without, however, ultimately fulfilling their commitments to consumers and without making a return. * the sums of money they have received in advance for the full payment of the price of the goods, according to their fixed policy.

In most cases, these companies cut off all communication with consumers after the transaction, as a result of which they can not receive any information regarding the progress of their purchases or the return of their money.

The Consumer Ombudsman, in the context of his responsibilities, highlights the above unfair and misleading commercial practices and forwards the reports he receives to the General Secretariat of Commerce and Consumer Protection, for the imposition of the provided sanctions. At the same time, given the necessity and the criminal investigation of these cases, it submits indictments to the competent Prosecutor of the Court of First Instance.

The Consumer Ombudsman recommends to consumers for their best protection especially during this difficult period:

• Prefer to make purchases from reputable and well-known online stores. An important sign of reliability is the long-term operation of the stores in the market and the existence of their physical headquarters.
• Always check the basic information provided for the online store by its website. Look for, in particular, the company name and full contact details, including postal address. Having only an e-mail address and a mobile phone is not enough and is, in fact, a sign of fraud.
• Be sure to check before payment that the site provides a secure connection for the transmission of sensitive data, such as credit card information. Make sure that the secure data transmission symbol is displayed in the "browser address" field - browser in HTTPS format. In this way they ensure that the e-shop has SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), ie a protocol for the secure transmission of sensitive data on the Internet, especially for purchases with credit-debit cards and paypal.
• Find on the internet any comments, experiences or recommendations of other consumers who have already traded with the store. This is easily done by typing the name of the company or online store into a search engine. Approach the recommendations with a critical eye, because they can be misleading or fabricated.
• Recognized online stores have on their website the trust marks of e-commerce associations and organizations that have certificates of security and privacy of personal data. This shows that the company is reliable and that it follows the basic rules in electronic transactions, so the consumer can buy from it safely.
• Avoid making purchases from online stores that require, exclusively, the prepayment of the price of the goods via credit / debit card, paypal or bank transfer and do not have cash on delivery or electronic payment at the time of delivery of the product as an alternative payment method.
• Do not be persuaded by the overly attractive prices of the products in relation to the competition or, in any case, this should not be the only criterion for the realization of their purchases.
• In case of serious signs of a problematic transaction, they should immediately challenge their banking institutions, if the payment of the goods has been made by card (debit or credit) and, respectively, to the electronic payment organizations (eg paypal).

Finally, consumers should receive a confirmation of the order, which they should keep along with any other related documents. If they need to contact the merchant, they should prefer the email. In this way, in case of a problem, they will have at their disposal practical receipts of their contact-communication, as well as all the details of the transaction that have been agreed.

Press release - Source