Online ordering: What do I need to look out for?
Before placing an order online, consumers should obtain detailed information about the online retailer. Therefore, you should always take a look at the shops legal notice. This way, customers know who they are dealing with and who they can contact if they have any problems.
In this article we explain the possible problems of ordering online and how to avoid them.
How can I recognise a reputable online retailer?
Online shops serving EU consumers are obliged to inform them about certain things during the ordering process. You should make sure that the seller is being transparent. Pay attention to the following points:
- Legal notice (Impressum): If the retailer does not tell you who they are, where they are based and how you can contact them, you should stay away.
- Product description (Produktbeschreibung): The essential characteristics of the goods or services must be stated. Otherwise, be cautious.
- Delivery deadlines (Lieferfristen): The supplier must state the date by which the goods must be delivered or the service provided.
- Total price (Gesamtpreis): The business must indicate the total price of the goods or the service, including all taxes and custom duties.
- Shipping costs (Versandkosten): The business must also specify all freight, delivery and shipping costs.
- Right of withdrawal (Widerrufsrecht): The online shop must provide information on the conditions, deadlines and procedures for exercising the right of withdrawal.
- General terms and conditions (Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen): Read through the company’s general terms and conditions before you purchase and look for important keywords such as costs, duration, delivery, cancellation, withdrawal, defects, warranty, and terms of payment.
- Payment options (Zahlungsmöglichkeiten): Pay attention to the different payment options that are offered. If only payment by bank transfer is offered, you should avoid shopping from the shop. Payment with credit card is considered secure. In the event of fraud, you can request a chargeback from your bank.
- Confirmation of the contract (Bestätigung des Vertrags): The business must provide you with a contract confirmation on a trustworthy medium (e.g. email), which must contain the contract (e.g. ordered goods, price, withdrawal policy). You should receive this at the latest when the goods are delivered or before the service is provided.
- Privacy policy (Datenschutzerklärung): The company is subject to data protection information obligations. Customers must be able to check what data about them is collected, processed and used.
- HTTPS connection (HTTPS-Verbindung): Make sure that the online shop has an encrypted connection. Especially if you need to enter personal data or your bank details!
- Reviews (Erfahrungsberichte): Take a look at the reviews and ratings from other buyers. Find independent review websites that aren’t connected to the seller’s website.
Here we explain how you can recognise fake shops on the internet. Taking a look at the watchlist internet website can be just as helpful as fake shop finders, e.g. from consumer advice centres.
Always pay attention to where the goods are supposed to be returned to
A recent problem with online shipping is dropshipping.
With dropshipping, an online shop only accepts the order and the goods are sent directly from the manufacturer or wholesaler. If you want to use your right of withdrawal, it’s possible the goods did not come from Europe and instead need to be sent back to China.
A closer look at the return information, and the terms and conditions as well as a keyword search for ‘China‘, ‘Asia‘, ‘returns‘ and ‘costs‘ can help recognise dropshipping before placing an order.
Recognising and avoiding other traps when ordering online
For a long time, subscription traps were widespread on the Internet and a major nuisance.
Unfortunately, they still exist. Thanks, to the so-called button solution, however, subscription traps are at least less frequent. This stipulates that the button that places the order must be clearly labelled with the words ‘order with the obligation to pay’ or a corresponding clear phrase (for online shops in other EU countries, the button can of course be in another language).
Dubious shops still do not or insufficiently indicate that their offer is subject to a charge. If the requirements of the ‘button solutions’ are violated, i.e. if the button is labelled incorrectly, no contract is concluded.
The obligation to clearly label buttons applies throughout Europe because of the Consumer Rights Directive.
Beware of default settings and hidden costs
Before the payment process, the online order should always be checked for default settings and hidden costs.
Online retailers often advertise additional services during the payment process, such as insurance for smart phones.
Particularly annoying are pre-ticked boxes that are intended to force additional services on the customer. If the service is not wanted, these boxes must be unticked.
Important: a contract for a chargeable additional service cannot be automatically set on an order. A contract for an additional service is not valid if a default setting is present.
Additional services must be consciously booked by the customer. This also applies, for example, to travel insurance for flight bookings.
Check your shopping basket and save documents
Before finalising your online order, check again exactly which products are in your shopping cart, how much the shipping costs and whether additional costs (taxes and custom duties) are incurred since the goods are being delivered from outside the EU.
Save the online order confirmation email, your purchase contract, the product description, the general terms and conditions and the cancellation policy on your computer (or print out the documents), as the online retailer may change the information at a later date.
Cancel long-term contracts with the cancellation button
Since July 2022, there has been a cancellation button for contracts that can be terminated online and long-term subscription services. This also applies to contracts terminated before July 1st 2022.
Prerequisite: German law is applicable to the contract. This makes it easier for consumers to cancel contracts.
The cancellation button must be offered by streaming services, dating sites or mobile phone providers.
If a company does not fulfil its legal obligations (i.e. there is no cancellation button on the website), the customer can cancel the contract at any time without respecting a notice period. In addition, the company must confirm the cancellation immediately in text form; e.g. by email. This also provides the consumer with proof of cancellation.
In the case of financial services (e.g. a loan agreement) or if the cancellation of the contract is subject to stricter requirements (e.g. a rental agreement), no cancellation button is required.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.