Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
WHETHER YOU’LL LOG ON to take part in Cyber Monday or not later this month, it’s estimated that those of us who do indulge in online shopping end up spending about €1.3 billion in total each year.
And as we don’t get an opportunity to examine an item before we buy, sometimes things don’t go exactly to plan. When this happens, it’s hard to know exactly where we stand, whether we’re entitled to a refund and what we have to do to get it.
That’s why we asked you to let us know what you’d like us to ask an expert about online shopping earlier this month. To clarify how your rights differ online, we put these questions to Áine Carroll, Director of Communications and Policy at the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
From the figures it gathered, online shopping was very popular among respondents – our informal survey found that 50% of respondents shop a few times a month, with 10% shopping a few times a week.
Although 64% had returned an online purchase, their experiences varied when things went wrong.
Required refunds
However, 55% of those surveyed did not realise that they have less rights if a business is based outside of the EU. Carroll explains why this figure is so high – often we don’t find out about our rights until things go wrong:
Online, people can be very task-oriented when shopping so they’re not necessarily thinking about their rights or where a business is based.
Similarly, only half the respondents realised that if their items don’t arrive within 30 days (provided they’ve bought from a business based in the EU) and unless they have agreed to an alternative date, they’re entitled to a refund. As Carroll explains, it’s not the only situation in which consumers don’t realise they’re entitled to a refund:
The most common problem on our helpline is when people don’t realise they have the right to cancel if they’ve changed their mind. Or if an item is on sale, they often believe their rights are different.
Carroll reminds that even if a business says otherwise, you have the exact same rights as when the item isn’t discounted – offline, this is not the case and depends on store policy.
Once you choose to return an item, you may be entitled to the cost of return postage – this will be set out in the website’s terms and conditions. But for things like a faulty or incorrect item rather than a change of mind, you’re always entitled to it – provided you’re very clear with the business that you are not exercising your right to cancel.
And when you’re returning an item for a faulty item, there are a few important things to do including letting the business know you are sending it back, says Carroll: ”
Send a photo of the delivery note, along with proof of the order and photos of what has been received.
Advertisement
Bidding to buy
The situation with buying from an individual was even more unclear for those who took our informal survey – nearly a third (30%) believed they had the exact same rights when they bought online from an individual as opposed to a business.
“I think the popularity of things like auction sites have blurred the lines a little. People don’t differentiate between the two”, explains Carroll. She says that issues tend to arise the most when an individual believes they have bought from a business but in fact they’ve made a purchase from an individual – giving them no rights under EU law.
If you do choose to buy on the likes of eBay or Etsy, Carroll urges that you “really need to read the terms and conditions before you buy”. She shares that a lot of these sites are self-regulated so “read the comments to see if other users have been happy with their purchases”.
What’s the custom?
Several of our readers surveyed were concerned about custom charges. According to Carroll, it’s good news if you keep your purchases to EU-based businesses: “There are no custom charges within the EU, it’s one of the many advantages of shopping within it.”
Once you purchase outside the EU however, you’re liable to pay VAT on any purchase with the value of €22 or more: “This is quite a low value, so a lot of people will fall into the category of requiring to pay VAT”.
Whatsmore, if an online purchase from outside the EU is valued at €150 or more, you legally have to pay import charges too. This means that not only do you have less rights when shopping outside the EU, it can also wind up being a lot more expensive.
Shopping scams
Some of our readers surveyed had concerns about how to spot a fake website, and what you can do if you end up making a purchase on one. There is a potential solution in this case, provided you are with Visa or Mastercard, says Carroll:
So you can request something called a chargeback from your bank, which you can also ask for if your items are never delivered.
A chargeback allows your bank or credit card company to reverse the transaction – crediting the payment back into your account. Ultimately, if you are buying from a website, you need to research it and beware of warning signs, says Carroll: “If a website is selling branded items for a lot less, that should make you suspicious.”
While Carroll says that your first response should be contacting the company, if you are unable to get a reply or a refund or if there is a dispute, you can request a chargeback. You can find out more about the process here, and more about your rights online here.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
This week I bought a black Friday sale laptop with Hardly Normal, I thought it was a first few buyers get for dirt cheap deal as was €79 with hundreds off.
Ordered, got receipt and money taken from my ac.
Waiting on delivery and I get an email explaining human error, money sent back to my ac and order cancelled.
They weren’t very nice to deal with after and zero attempt to accommodate me on what I was looking for.
To big to give a toss.
At no loss (once money clears back to ac) but kinda feel cheated after all the excitement!
Go Hardly go f… O..
Video shows 15 aid workers killed in Gaza were in marked vehicles - contradicting Israel’s account
Updated
3 mins ago
3.2k
hit the brakes
Jaguar Land Rover pauses all US shipments this month in wake of tariffs
25 mins ago
516
3
trade war
China slaps extra 34% tariffs on US imports as Trump vows his 'policies will never change'
Updated
22 hrs ago
62.1k
185
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 164 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 111 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 146 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 116 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 85 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 39 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 35 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 136 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 61 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 76 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 84 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 47 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 27 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 93 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 100 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 73 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 55 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 91 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 69 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say