Top retailers face OFT action over online services

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/oct/12/top-retailers-oft-action-online-services

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More than a third of the UK's 150 top online retailers have been told to change their websites or face action from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after it found them to be in potential breach of consumer protection laws.

The watchdog has written to 62 retailers after an investigation uncovered various online wrongdoings, including imposing unreasonable restrictions on people's rights to a refund and adding unexpected extra charges at the check-out.

The 62 came from a "web sweep" of the top 100 online retailers selling to UK consumers and 57 top clothing retailers. The top 100 includes giants such as Amazon, Argos, Tesco, Next and John Lewis.

The sweep looked in particular at potential breaches of the distance selling regulations which are designed to protect consumers when they shop online or enter into other contracts at a distance from the supplier.

The most common breach of rules on refunds was a requirement that the product must be in the original packaging or condition when returned. Although shoppers have to make sure goods are in a reasonable condition when they are returned, retailers cannot always insist they be in the original packaging because this can infringe on the buyer's rights to reasonably assess the product.

Of the websites the OFT looked at, 60% only provided a web contact form rather than an email contact address, which is a breach of e-commerce regulations; 2% provided no electronic contact at all.

A quarter of the websites added unexpected charges to the price of goods at the checkout. These included things such as credit card and delivery charges.

"The OFT recognises that most businesses want to play fair with their customers and to comply with the law," said Cavendish Elithorn, senior director of the goods and consumer group at the OFT. "We encourage all online retailers to check their websites so customers can be confident their rights are being respected when they shop online."

The OFT or local trading standards can take action against retailers who do not make amendments to their websites, including imposing a fine.