People in the Netherlands like to order their gifts online in a web store. But always pay attention before you click on ‘Order’.
Pay attention when shopping online
Convenience serves people. Especially for those who have a full agenda. Online shopping can be done between businesses and with a little search, you will find the most original gifts. But pay attention before making a purchase. Check whether you are dealing with a reliable online store and know your rights.
Fake Web Stores
Are the offers too good to be true? Perhaps you are dealing with a fake webshop. Sometimes existing online stores are copied. For example, you think that you are shopping at BCC, but that is not the case at all. The name is included in the web address (for example BCC-almere.com), but the website is not owned by BCC at all, but by scammers. These webshops are often only online for a very short time. A few tips so that you don’t fill the shopping cart at a fake shop:
- Go to the search engine and search for the name and URL of the webshop. What kind of experiences do you read, how long has the webshop been in existence? If you can’t find anything, it’s suspicious.
- Check whether the webshop has a quality mark and do this on the website of the quality mark itself. You can read more about that further on.
Pay wisely
Choose postpay to make sure you don’t pay for a package that never arrives. Part of the amount (50%) can be paid in arrears, web shops are legally obliged to do so. If (partial) post-payment is not possible, do not order. You may be dealing with a scammer. If you pay via PayPal or credit card and you do not receive your order, you can receive a refund. Read more about this in the article ‘Paying on the internet’.
Check the quality mark
Check whether the webshop has a quality mark. You can do this on the website of Thuiswinkel Waarborg or Webshop Keurmerk. A logo of the quality mark at the webshop itself says nothing. Anyone can put a picture on their site. Read how to check whether a store is affiliated with a quality mark in the tip ‘How do I check a webshop quality mark’.
Your rights when returning
If you return a package within the statutory cooling-off period of fourteen days, you are entitled to the following:
- You will receive the purchase amount back within two weeks.
- If you return an order in its entirety, you do not have to pay the delivery costs with which the package was delivered to your home.
You can read more on the website of the Consumers’ Association.