Goods ordered, money transferred, but the seller fails to meet the delivery deadline, or the products differ from the description. How can and should a customer react to online purchases that have gone wrong?
Eurostat statistics show that almost half of all Europeans have taken advantage of buying products online in the last three months, and that the amount of online shoppers in the Old Continent has doubled in the last 10 years.
Reports on the amount of online sales leave no illusions that the future belongs to online trading. The estimates in The European Ecommerce Report 2018 show that this year, European online stores will sell goods worth a total of EUR 602 billion. A year ago, sales amounted to EUR 534 billion, two years ago they amounted to EUR 480 billion. It has only taken five years for the volume of online sales to double, in 2013, the entire industry sold goods for EUR 307 billion.
Online shops are gaining more and more customers as they tend to offer a wider choice of goods and lower prices than traditional retailers. Some of the most important factors for consumers is that they do not have to respect trading hours, waste time on going to a shopping centre or meander through the crowds.
Payment methods for online shopping are also becoming simpler and simpler. Quick transfer systems do not require the completion of the payee’s data. And financial platforms already offer the option of paying in a different currency to the one required by the seller. They also give clients beneficial currency conversion. Such a service is available, for example, at Conotoxia.com.
Great Britain is in the lead
The leader of the Eurostat statistics is Great Britain, where 78% of internet users have bought something online in the last three months. The British are followed by Switzerland (72%), Denmark and Luxembourg (69% each).
In contrast, the lowest amount of online purchases are made by Montenegrin citizens, where only 8% have opted for this type of transaction in the last three months. Slightly more than that can be found in Macedonia, 10% and in Romania and Bulgaria, 11%. Close to the European average, 48%, you can find the inhabitants of Estonia (46%), which is considered to be one of the most cyber savvy countries on the continent.
Duty free boundary
Online shopping has no national borders – only in theory. When transactions take place between sellers and buyers within the European Union, there is no need to worry about additional customs or tax. However, when a customer wants to buy goods from China or the USA, they sometimes have to face customs duty or VAT, although this is not a strict rule.
VAT is not charged on goods up to the value of EUR 22. This exemption does not apply, for example, to tobacco products and alcohol. More expensive items are subject to different rules, which, however, have recently changed in the customer’s favour. One such change was the increase in the duty free allowance for shipments between EUR 22-150.
Seller obligations
Online shops in the EU have to comply with a delivery time limit for getting their goods to their customers within 30 days from when the order is placed. However, there is a some wiggle room. If the customer and the seller agree that the time of delivery will be longer and both parties accept the terms, it is possible for the delivery of the goods to take more than 30 days for the seller to complete. In all other cases, the customer may withdraw from the contract and demand reimbursement for the ordered goods.
If it turns out that the shipping costs are higher than those indicated on the website, the client can cancel the purchase without any consequences. The provisions are unambiguous in this respect. The seller must clearly state how much the goods cost and how much for delivery. It is then the consumer’s decision to whether they want to pay an additional fee for express delivery or not.
Online shops must also send goods that directly correspond to the characteristics contained in the offer, which concern, among other things, colours, sizes and technical parameters as well as the quality of workmanship. If the seller makes a mistake or if there is a discrepancy between the goods delivered and those offered online, the responsibility and, if any, the costs of delivering the correct shipment will be borne by the online store. However, the customer may in such a case demand a refund instead of an exchange.
Privileges and duties of the customer
However, e-commerce rules work both ways. If the transaction was successful, but the customer suddenly decides not to pick up the goods, the seller can demand payment for the return shipment.
Importantly, goods purchased online can be returned without giving a reason. Customers receive their money back, but in many cases lose what they spent on sending the shipment back. Exceptions to this are offers that provide buyers with free returns on their purchases.
Generally speaking, buyers do not have to worry about damage during transportation, but an untypical situation could occur. If the client insists on the services of a carrier which was not recommended by the seller, the customer must address any claims to the transport company of his choice. In other cases, the responsibility for the faulty transport falls on the seller.
