Bridal Buyer – A guide to smart online shopping

Planning your wedding can sometimes mean lots of buying. Using the internet to purchase goods or
services saves considerable time and effort – and sometimes gives you with the widest choice and
the ability to compare prices quickly. There are, however, risks associated with online shopping and
you need to take care with what you are buying, from whom, and how you pay for your purchases.

The Risks

• Fraud resulting from making payments over unsecured web pages.
• Bogus online stores/shops – fake websites and email offers for goods and services that do not exist.
• Receiving goods or services which do not match the advertiser’s description or not receiving your goods or service at all

Safe Shopping

• Ensure that any online retailer unfamiliar to you is reputable by researching them. Establish a physical address and telephone contact details. Remember that the best way to find a reputable retailer is via recommendation from a trusted source.
• Remember that paying by credit card offers greater protection than with other methods in terms of fraud, guarantees and non-delivery. Paypal is also a good payment method – but remember you can only make a claim for 45 days after you made the payment so bear this in mind if you are paying for good or services that are going to be provided after this deadline.
• Double check all details of your purchase before confirming payment. Getting written confirmations help establish details and protect both parties
• Before entering payment card details on a website, ensure that the link is secure, in three ways:

1. There should be a padlock symbol in the browser window frame, which appears when you attempt to log in or register. Be sure that the padlock is not on the page itself ... this will probably indicate a fraudulent site.
2. The web address should begin with ‘https://’. The ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’
3. If using the latest version of your browser, the address bar or the name of the site owner will turn green.

• When making a payment to an individual, never transfer the money directly into their bank account but use a secure payment site such as PayPal, where money is transferred between two electronic accounts.
• Check sellers’ privacy policy and returns policy before you complete the transaction – there may be restrictions on what can be returned especially on personalised and customised products.
• Keep receipts and all communications.

What to do if things go wrong

Sometimes online sales, just like those from high street stores, can go wrong. So here at Wedding
Find It Buy It we have put together a step by step guide that may help you solve your problems.

• Firstly, do not overreact – we have seen many people offering a solution of “go to the police” or “report to trading standards” this should NEVER be your first option
• Contact the seller involved, explain to them exactly what the problem is and what you would like them to do to solve it. Be clear and concise but remember you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar – remain polite at all times.
• Allow the seller adequate time to put this matter right. This of course depends upon individual situations but you need to allow time for the buyer to investigate and supply a replacement or refund. Ideally try and agree a timescale with the seller and allow them this time.
• If you are unsuccessful in resolving the problem with the seller think about how you paid. If you paid via Paypal and within the 45 day period you can open a claim with them, they will then investigate. If you paid via credit card then contact your card issuer and they will take you through their processes to obtain a charge back. Under the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) your credit card provider are jointly liable for the transaction. Some Debit Cards also offer this protection but not as many, contact your card issuer who will confirm if you are able to do this. If you are outside of your 45 day Paypal time limit but the card linked to your PayPal account is a credit card – you can then still claim by contacting your credit card company.
• Think before becoming a “keyboard warrior”. If you take to a company’s social networking page and start writing negatively before giving the company the opportunity to resolve the problem you may find them less likely to want to help you. Not every transaction that goes wrong means you have been scammed. There are sometimes genuine reasons that a company has not been able to fulfill a transaction