With the current big freeze keeping us all indoors and with the festive season fast approaching there has never been a better time to shop online from the warmth of your home. However, it’s at this time of year that we need to be extra savvy about our online shopping security and Deeside based online retailer Treatme.net have today published their guidelines helping us have a safer online shopping experience.

Paul Evans, Sales Director for Treatme.net said “Shopping online has never been easier and at this time of year it can save so much time not to mention hassle. As an online retailer we take customer shopping security very seriously. The online shopping experience should be an enjoyable one and this includes shopping safe in the knowledge that you’re dealing with a reputable online retailer.”

Paul continued “If you buy something on the high street and its unsuitable shoppers feel confident that they can march it back to the store and get their money back. We want to make shoppers aware of their rights online so they can shop with that same level of confidence. We’ve invested heavily into our online security system and pride ourselves on the credible shopping experience we give to our customers. We’ve enhanced our services by adding our ‘Live Chat’ meaning if our customers have a question whilst shopping on our site www.treatme.net they can immediately chat online with one of our experienced team.”

Tips from treatme.net on how to have a safe online shopping experience

1.       When you shop online you have the same rights as high street shoppers – plus you get some extra protection too under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.

2.       After shopping online you’ll be entitled to a cooling off period (on most purchases). ‘Product’ purchases have a 7 day cooling off period, this ends 7 working days after you receive your goods. If you buy a ‘service’ online (rather than a product purchase), the seven day cooling off period starts from the date you order the items.

3.       There are some exceptions to your cancellation rights for example the purchase of tickets for air or rail, theatre or concert performances, sporting events or hotels, perishable goods or personalised items.

4.       You can have a safer shopping experience by ensuring that your computer is protected with firewall anti-virus and anti-spy software

5.       Online shopping sites are required by law to provide a postal address and telephone contact details. It might also be worth calling the number on the website before you order to check the details are correct so you won’t experience any problems contacting the company if a problem occurs post purchase.

6.       Look for https in the internet address – the ‘s’ stands for secure.

7.       Also look for a padlock icon on the bottom right hand corner of the window frame that surrounds the webpage. Double clicking on the padlock will allow you to check the websites security certificate for yourself.

8.       If you receive an email or advert that’s offering goods or services at an amazingly low price or its telling you that you’ve won an amazing prize it may be a scam. If an offer seems to be good to be true then it probably is!

9.       Always print and keep a copy of your order confirmation and check it against your credit/debit card statement to make sure you were charged correctly.

10.    You have added protection if you pay for your online purchase by credit card for goods costing over £100 but no more than £30,000 – this means if good are faulty or fail to turn up you can claim against your credit card provider. You can also get extra online protection for your credit card by joining a password protection scheme which prevents unauthorised use of the card for online shopping. Your credit card company can provide you with further information.