European guidelines give consumers more power when shopping online

Thursday, June 30, 2011 - 09:49 by Mike Price

A change in legislation will mean that consumers in the UK and across the EU will have improved rights governing the arena of safe shopping online.

Earlier in the month a directive from the European Parliament was passed, which will see shoppers getting up to two weeks to decide whether or not they want to accept a particular product which they have bought via e-commerce.

Within this window it will now be mandatory for retailers to offer a full refund if products are returned to them, eliminating any worries which buyers may have during the checkout process if they find they have acted too swiftly.

As well as altering the rules on returns, the parliament ruled that online retailers need to improve the level of information which is delivered to consumers during the process of safe shopping online. This will include not only details about the products being purchased but also up to date contact info which will help consumers get in touch with sellers.

Parliamentary spokesperson, Andreas Schwab, said that the aim of these changes was to allow regulation of products being sold across long distances and over national boundaries, as is often the case with e-commerce transactions.

Mr Schwab said that, ideally, both consumers and retailers would benefit from the changes being made. A degree of balance was at the core of the negotiations for the alterations, keeping the interests of businesses in mind while empowering the consumer to make retailers work hard for their custom.

An overwhelming majority of members voted the changes through the parliament and at the lower levels of online retail it will be the small e-commerce businesses which benefit most, as they are going to have to deal with less bureaucracy when fulfilling their functions.