Online shoppers ignorant of legal rights

21-12-2005

by Deirdre McArdle

Some 78 percent of online consumers in Ireland are blissfully unaware of their legal rights when making a purchase over the internet.

So says a survey conducted by researchers from the Law Department at University College Cork (UCC), which also reveals that 83 percent of those who had made a purchase online were not aware of the existence of any legal protection for online consumers.

The survey shows that while the number of people shopping online has increased, their awareness of their rights and attention to terms and conditions is quite low: 71 percent of respondents never or only "sometimes" read the terms and conditions before making a purchase.

Looking at what online consumers do consider important information, the report shows that price took the top spot, with 98 percent of those surveyed saying it was "very" important. The description of the product was a key factor for 97 percent of people, arrangements for payment and delivery were cited as crucial by 94 percent, while 91 percent were concerned with delivery costs.

Respondents were also asked if there was any other information that should be provided; 64 percent said "no", while 36 percent said "yes". Of those who said yes, less than one-third said that information on online security should be provided.

The survey also examined whether consumers were happy with the levels of information they received, and while 64 percent said they were happy with the information provided and had not encountered any problems, 36 percent said they had experienced difficulties.

Of the 36 percent, just over two-thirds said they were not able to find the information they were looking for, while 47 percent said they had been overloaded with information. Others found that pages took too long to download (57 percent) and forms were difficult to download (35 percent).

The survey also asked a number of questions about returns policies in a bid to discover consumers' awareness about their rights in this area. Under the Distance Selling Regulations Act 2001, suppliers are required to allow consumers a minimum period of seven days from the date of delivery to return the goods and get a full refund. However, only 10 percent of respondent were aware of this and 40 percent thought the goods have to be faulty in order to get a refund.

According to the 2001 regulations, suppliers are required to provide consumers with certain information about themselves and the goods or services provided to enable consumers to consider whether to buy or not.

In that regard, a website survey, also conducted by researchers in UCC, showed that almost 50 percent of websites failed to provide adequate information about payment, delivery or performance; over 30 percent of websites failed to provide adequate information about the consumer's right of withdrawal; and almost 25 percent of sites failed to comply with the requirement as to price.

As online shopping increases in popularity, consumers need to be more aware of their rights when shopping on the internet, according to the survey, which says that government bodies and business representative organisations should do more to ensure higher levels of compliance with the 2001 regulations among suppliers, through the publication of guidelines on compliance and best practice.

The researchers surveyed 353 respondents in a number of cities around Ireland.