Trading Standards Warn of Online Dangers

Leicestershire Trading Standards Service urges consumers to be extra vigilant when shopping online in the lead up to Christmas. There are countless websites offering designer goods at very low prices, but the goods may not be delivered and often turn out to be poor quality and fake.

Such websites are mostly located abroad, often in China and do not comply with UK consumer law. Getting refunds is impossible and secure payment companies don’t guarantee to get you your money back either!

Head of the Trading Standards Service, David Bull, said: “Shop around before making a purchase. Research several websites and don’t just assume that a website with ‘UK’ in the address is actually based in the UK. Leicestershire Trading Standards Service has received a number of complaints recently where this has not been the case. Check a number of sites and compare prices with high street retailers as well. If something seems too good to be true then often it is”.

Some genuine brands such as UGG Boots and GHD put ‘web checkers’ on their sites. This allows the consumer to check if the website they are looking at is affiliated with the genuine brand or one of the known scam sites. It’s worth using this if it is available. Remember to look at the wording of a website as in many unofficial ones the grammar or spelling may be incorrect particularly where the website is designed in a country where English is not the first language.

All online retailers selling in the UK need to comply with consumer protection legislation allowing a consumer a seven day cooling off period and to return goods for a refund if they are not happy with something they have ordered. By law UK websites must display a geographical address together with consumer cancellation rights. Check these are displayed on the website and read through them carefully before you make purchase.

Be vigilant against the counterfeiters as they could ruin your Christmas.

www.leics.gov.uk/tradingstandards