Trading Standards Institute pans Internet shopping

 

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Posted on 13 Oct 2000 at 11:21

The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) has condemned shopping on the Internet as being slower, more expensive and more hassle than the high street.

In a survey in which test purchases were made from 102 companies, the TSI found that 38 per cent of orders did not arrive on time and that 17 per cent failed to materialise. There were incidences of companies taking the money and then vanishing, charging extortionate delivery fees and delivering damaged goods.

One in four companies failed to use secure servers for transactions, leaving customers' details vulnerable to hackers, while others failed to publish their name or address and other consumer rights.

The bigger high street stores were the worst offenders, while smaller companies fared better.

Allan Charlesworth, Chief Executive of the TSI, said: "There are still too many Internet traders who are either not aware of their obligations to customers or, worse still, don't care."

The TSI has published a leaflet to help people avoid getting a rough ride when buying online called Shopping on the Internet - Better safe than sorry.

Author: Matt Whipp