Check track records of online shops 

ALMOST everyday, I see advertisements in newspapers of online shops offering a wide range of electronic goods, particularly mobile phones, at a great discount. The offers are certainly tempting, but I would advise people to exercise abundant caution while purchasing from these shops because in several cases that I have come across, what was delivered was not what was promised.

In one particular case, for example, the consumer found, following delivery of his purchase, that the cell-phone that he got was not the original product, but a cheap Chinese imitation. It did not in any way fit the description of the product advertised. And it never worked. When he complained, the online shop never bothered to respond. "I have now lost my money," he says.

In another case, the online shop collected the money (through online transaction) for a mobile phone, but informed the customer two days later that his order had been cancelled on account of non-availability of stocks and that his money would be returned within 15 days. He never got back the money.

Today, given the chaos on the roads, the traffic jams and the extended travel time, buying from online shops seems like an ideal option. More so because sitting in the comfort of your home, you can compare brands, their features and their prices and make an informed choice. Since many of the online shops also offer good discounts, buying online is certainly more tempting. But unfortunately, several unscrupulous businessmen use online shops to defraud consumers, and that is the reason why one needs to be wary of these shops.

As a first step, I would advise customers to carry out an online survey of the shop concerned before making any purchase.  That is easy. Go online and key in the name of the shop and see if there are any complaints against it. You can also visit websites that provide consumers with a platform to express their views. In fact, following a complaint from a reader, I searched the online shop that he had referred to and found at least two dozen complaints from dissatisfied customers. They all pertained to the poor quality of mobile phones that had been delivered and the shop’s refusal to either replace these or refund the money.   If the customers had done this background check before purchase, they would have kept away from this e-shop.

Similarly, sometime ago, I got a complaint from a reader about an online florist to whom he had paid a hefty sum to deliver flowers to his father on his birthday. The flowers were never delivered!  Here again, when I checked on the Internet, I found a large number of complaints against that particular florist.

Worse, he did not even have a postal address or a landline number. All he had was this website and apparently, once the order was placed and the money paid, he never delivered the flowers, nor did he refund the amount. So it was obviously a big fraud being played on consumers.

Always check the track record of the company. Even if you find no complaints against the online shop and feel encouraged to shop, I would suggest that you look at the website carefully.

First and foremost, see if the online shop has a brick and mortar shop somewhere, or a postal address where you can contact the owners, if necessary, and a landline connection.  Call that number and see if it connects to the shop. Also see from the website if there are any names of the owners.

Once the shop passes the test in the background check, then you need to send them specific queries, asking for a detailed description of the product that you intend to buy and its price, inclusive of delivery charges. How long will they take to deliver? Will the product carry the relevant warranty?

Do not forget to ask about their return and refund policy if you are not satisfied with the product. In how many days will they return your money, and will you get back the full refund, or will they deduct any amount towards transportation and delivery? Do they have any grievance redress mechanism?   

Take printouts of all their responses and keep these safe.  You do not know when you will need them. Remember, not delivering the promised product, or delivering a product that is different from what was promised or ordered, constitutes an unfair trade practice, and you can go to the consumer court constituted under the Consumer Protection Act for redress. However, as the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. So it is better to be an alert person.

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