UK CREDIT CARDS & UK LOANS

Some of these tips could apply to any purchase:

• Shop with well-known retailers and services or personally recommended ones. Make sure you know the full postal address of the trader - be wary of dealing with any company which only gives you a post office box number.
• Remember to shop around (just as you would in the high street) for the best prices and service. If you later find the same goods at a lower price elsewhere, there will usually be nothing you can do about it.
• Find out the company's refund and return policies before you place an order. Check how long delivery will take.
• Watch for additional charges such as VAT, customs duties, delivery and packaging. Some of these might be hidden.
• If there is anything you are not sure of, phone the company and ask for details of the product or service in writing, listing all the charges.
• When purchasing within Europe, you may still be protected by some of your consumer rights under UK law, regardless of which country's laws are said to apply in the contract. If something goes wrong when purchasing from outside Europe it is likely to be more difficult and/or expensive to put things right.
  

But these are more specific to purchases over the internet:

• Online, the person you are dealing with can be anyone, based anywhere. Because it's easy to fake e-mail addresses, make sure you know who you're dealing with before you give out personal information.
• Always read the small print; and print out and save the contract and terms of business; it is very easy for the seller to change the wording on their web site after your purchase. Keep a copy (or take a note) of their advert/web page/e-mail.
• If you are concerned about receiving unsolicited e-mail, try to find out how your personal details may be used. Many suppliers will explain how they will use private data.
• Giving out your credit card details online can be made safer:
  • make sure that you know who the trader is;
  • that you have the business address before giving the information; and
  • that the trader has an encryption facility which will scramble card details while in transit. Select safe sites - those that display a padlock at the bottom when the payment screen is selected.
• Be cautious; there are many scams on the internet. Be wary of any company that makes a product or performance claim that's unlikely or just plain hard to believe. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

There are certain basic legal rights you have when you buy goods or services from a UK-based company. When you buy through the internet you have as many rights in law as when you buy from a shop, street market, mail order catalogue or during sales.

The law says that goods must be:

• as described - on the web site. If you are told that a shirt is 100% cotton, then that is what it should be and not, for example, polyester and cotton.
• of satisfactory quality - they must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as acceptable bearing in mind the way they were described, what they cost and any other relevant circumstances. This covers, for instance, the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety, and their durability. Goods must be free from defects, even minor ones, except when they have been brought to your attention by the seller for example, if the goods are said to be shop-soiled.
• fit for their purposes, including any particular purpose mentioned by you to the seller - for example, if you are buying a computer game and you explain that you want one which can be played on a particular type of machine, the seller must not supply you with one that cannot.

These are your statutory rights in the UK; defined by the law. All goods bought or hired from a trader - whether from shops, street markets, mail order catalogues or over the internet - are covered by these rights. This includes goods bought in sales. If you have a complaint, bear in mind how the item was described. A new item must look new and unspoiled as well as work properly, but if the goods are secondhand, or seconds and are described as such, then you cannot expect perfect quality.

You have no real grounds for complaint if you:

• were told about a specific fault;
• did the damage yourself;
• made a mistake when purchasing the item;
• simply changed your mind about the item.

Under these circumstances you are not legally entitled to anything, but many traders may help out of goodwill. It is always worth asking.

Traders' goodwill

Many traders have goodwill policies which go beyond your statutory rights. For example, some retailers will allow you to exchange goods which are not faulty, such as clothes which are the wrong size or are not the colour you want. You do not have a statutory right to this; the trader's policy will vary from retailer to retailer. Members of the Direct Marketing Association will allow customers to return goods within 7 days for most items.

Guarantees

Guarantees do not affect your statutory rights but can be useful when your statutory rights no longer apply. Make sure you return the guarantee card and be sure you complain within the guarantee period.

Accepting the goods

If there is something wrong with what you buy, tell the seller as soon as possible. It is a good idea to e-mail or phone to let them know about your complaint. Make a written note of a phone conversation or take a copy of e-mail correspondence.

If you tell the seller promptly that the goods are faulty and you do not want them you should be able to get your money back. As long as you have not legally accepted the goods you can still reject them - that is, refuse to accept them. One of the ways you accept goods is by keeping them, without complaint, after you have had a reasonable time to examine them. What is reasonable is not fixed; it depends on all the circumstances. But normally you can at least try your purchase out at home. If, however, you delay in examining what you have bought, or in telling the seller about a fault, then you may lose your right to reject.

Note that if you signed an acceptance note on receiving goods this does not mean you have signed away your right to reject. You still have a reasonable time to examine them. Letting the seller try to put faulty goods right also has no effect on your rights - if the repair fails, you still have any right to reject that you had when you agreed to the repair.

Once you have, in the legal sense, accepted goods, you lose your right to a full refund. You can only claim compensation, and you have to keep your claim to a reasonable amount. Normally you have to accept an offer to put the goods right, or the cost of a repair. But if the faults in your goods cannot be put right, you are entitled to appropriate compensation. You may ask for a replacement as appropriate compensation, but the seller is not obliged to provide this

Remember...

Do not be put off by traders trying to talk their way out of their responsibilities.

• The law says it is up to the seller to deal with complaints about defective goods or other failures to comply with your statutory rights. So do not accept the excuse that 'it's the manufacturer's fault'. But you may have additional rights against the manufacturer under a guarantee.
• You have the same rights when you buy goods in a sale as at any other time; the seller cannot get away with disclaimers saying there are no refunds on faulty sale goods. Think twice before you buy from a trader who displays a statement like this. It is against the law, and local authorities can prosecute the trader. Use this link for more information on exclusion clauses.
• You have the same rights even if you lose your receipt, but the onus will be on you to prove where and when you bought the goods. A receipt is useful evidence.
• You may be able to claim compensation if you suffer loss because of faulty goods.

Buying from private individuals

If you buy goods privately you have fewer rights than when you buy from a trader. Privately bought goods do not have to be free of faults, but they must be as described.

The general rule is 'buyer beware' so make sure you check that you are getting a good buy. If the seller says anything misleading about the condition of the goods, and you buy on the basis of what is said, then you will have a claim if the goods turn out differently. In practice, this could be difficult to enforce.

Beware of traders who pose as private sellers. This is illegal and takes advantage of the fact that you have fewer rights when you buy from a private seller.

Buying at an on-line auction

Beware when buying at on-line auctions as you have fewer statutory rights. Auctioneers, unlike other sellers, can refuse to accept responsibility for the quality of the goods they auction, so read the conditions of sale carefully. However, the standard terms of the contract (unless the seller is a private seller), will still be subject to the test of fairness set out in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994 .

You have certain basic legal rights when you buy services from a UK-based company. When you buy through the internet you have as many rights in law as when you buy through other means.

When you pay for a service - for example, from a travel agent, you are entitled to certain standards. A service should be carried out:

• with reasonable care and skill - the work should be carried out to a proper standard of workmanship in all the circumstances;
• within a reasonable time - when you have not actually agreed a definite completion time with the supplier of the service;
• at a reasonable charge, if no price has been fixed in advance - if the price was fixed at the outset, or some other way of working out the charge was agreed, you cannot complain later that it is unreasonable. Always ask a trader how much a particular service will cost. The trader may only be able to make an informed guess at the cost and give you an estimate. If you agree a fixed cost it is usually called a quotation. A fixed price is binding whatever it is called. (It might help, if you did not fix a price and you think you have been overcharged when the bill arrives, to get quotes from other traders for comparison when you complain. Some may charge to provide a quote.)

Where materials are used in the provision of a service (for example software), or the service involves fitting goods, the materials and goods are covered by the law in the same way as when you buy them directly.

Trade associations

Whether you are buying goods or services, it could be worth checking, before you part with your money, whether the business or person is a member of a trade association. If they are, do they follow a code of practice for consumers and precisely what does this offer in addition to your statutory rights. Dealing with a firm following such a code does not guarantee satisfactory work and the levels of protection offered by different codes vary. However, the best codes offer a number of extras, including a low cost or free independent redress system to decide on disputes, which may well make it easier to get any problems you have put right.

Unfair contract terms

You are not bound by a standard term in a contract with a trader if it unfairly weights the contract against you. This applies particularly to exclusion clauses under which traders may try to escape their responsibilities. An example is 'No liability for delays however caused'.

If an exclusion is unfair, it is legally void and cannot be used against you. Any exclusion of liability is always void if it is used for the purpose of evading liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

In contracts concluded between traders and consumers since 1 July 1995, other unfair terms may also be unenforceable. For example, clauses that try to stop you going to court over a dispute, terms which prevent you from withdrawing from a contract while allowing the trader to do so, and (most) clauses which give the trader the right to vary the terms of the contract (such as the price) without you having the right to withdraw.

It is up to the courts to decide if a term is unfair. If you think a term is unfair, you may wish to get advice from your local trading standards department or citizens advice bureau, or write to the Director General of Fair Trading .

Consumer safety

It is an offence for a supplier to sell goods which do not comply with product safety legislation . This applies to both new and secondhand products, but not to antiques or to goods needing repair or reconditioning, providing you were clearly informed of this fact. If you believe you have bought unsafe goods, you should contact the trading standards department of your local authority. Prompt action may help prevent accident or injury to other customers.

Buying with a credit card

You have some extra protection if you buy the goods or services with a credit card. This applies to goods or services costing more than £100 for one item, even if you only pay a deposit. If you have a claim against the seller because, for example, the goods are not what you asked for or are faulty, you may also have a claim against the credit card company. This could be useful if the seller goes out of business.

Untrue claims

It is a criminal offence for a trader to write something which is untrue about what is being offered for sale. If, when you have bought the goods, you feel that you have been misled, tell your local Trading Standards Department which may decide to prosecute the trader. If the trader is convicted, a claim for compensation may be considered by the court, except in Northern Ireland where you would have to sue separately. .

Delivery

If the supplier is made fully aware of a vital delivery deadline, then failure to abide by it could mean that you can cancel your order and ask for your money back. In other circumstances of delay, where a date has been specified, you should be able to make a claim for damages for breach of contract.

Where no definite date is given, goods should be delivered within a reasonable time in all the circumstances. If they are not, contact the seller to say that if the goods have not arrived by a certain date (for example, within a further two weeks) which is reasonable in all the circumstances you will not want them and will want your money back. But if you agree to give the seller extra time (for example, another month) you cannot change your mind and try to cancel your order before that extra time is up.

The Advertising Standards Authority endorses and administers the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion which includes specific rules on delivery times for ordered goods.

Price

Make sure you know all the conditions regarding price. You may have agreed to pay any increase which takes place between ordering and delivery, or perhaps you will have agreed a fixed price. Be sure you know whether there are extra charges for postage and packing, and if so what they are. Quotes should include elements such as VAT, delivery charges and fitting charges.

And, if you're ordering from abroad, there are likely to be additional customs duty and taxes to pay.

OFT Consumer Advice

There is a lot more advice and information on your general rights as consumers on the Office of Fair Trading's main web site.