online retail, as a refund would result in a heavy loss to the retailer. When profits are small, as they are in retail, one return can wipe out profits from ten sales. So retailers try and make returns hard.

The Distance Selling Regulations control how goods are sold online. The OFT publishes guidelines for the DSR. The actual regulations are lengthy but available online.

Under the g

Internet shopping is highly competitive and a key aspect to success is getting visitors. One way of doing that is by endorsements from consumer watchdogs. Today, I am looking at one such watchdog called Safebuy and asking a simple question – who watches the watchdogs and are they just seeking profits?

Safebuy is a newcomer to the watchdog scene. The private company Software Research Limited registered the name (safebuy.org.uk) on 22 January 2003.

Companies House shows Software Research Ltd had 54,000 GBP in gross profit for the year ending 2006.

Safebuy is endorsed by some impressive names such as Carphone Warehouse, Institute of Directors, Which, TrustUK, and others. These endorsements appear to be the result of business dealing by some key people. Safebuy states it is endorsed by the OFT. The OFT had a press release about Safebuy in 2006 which states Safebuy had more than 1000 members and was growing at 40 members a month.

Wikipedia has no entry for Safebuy, which surprised me and made me wonder why the people’s encyclopedia had no entry for Safebuy when it is supported by such high level names.

When I wrote to Safebuy in January this year asking for the private company to state how it is held accountable, I got no reply at all. This week I contacted my Southend Trading Standards office and they said it appears the sites supported by Safebuy have unlawful Terms and Conditions. The principal trading standards officer, Ian Ralph, referred this matter to the OFT.

The controversially is about refunds and returns. Refunds are difficult in online retail, as a refund would result in a heavy loss to the retailer. When profits are small, as they are in retail, one return can wipe out profits from ten sales. So retailers try and make returns hard.

The Distance Selling Regulations control how goods are sold online. The OFT publishes guidelines for the DSR. The actual regulations are lengthy but available online.

Under the gu

registered the name (safebuy.org.uk) on 22 January 2003.

Companies House shows Software Research Ltd had 54,000 GBP in gross profit for the year ending 2006.

Safebuy is endorsed by some impressive names such as Carphone Warehouse, Institute of Directors, Which, TrustUK, and others. These endorsements appear to be the result of business dealing by some key people. Safebuy states it is endorsed by the OFT. The OFT had a press release about Safebuy in 2006 which states Safebuy had more than 1000 members and was growing at 40 members a month.

Wikipedia has no entry for Safebuy, which surprised me and made me wonder why the people’s encyclopedia had no entry for Safebuy when it is supported by such high level names.

When I wrote to Safebuy in January this year asking for the private company to state how it is held accountable, I got no reply at all. This week I contacted my Southend Trading Standards office and they said it appears the sites supported by Safebuy have unlawful Terms and Conditions. The principal trading standards officer, Ian Ralph, referred this matter to the OFT.

The controversially is about refunds and returns. Refunds are difficult in online retail, as a refund would result in a heavy loss to the retailer. When profits are small, as they are in retail, one return can wipe out profits from ten sales. So retailers try and make returns hard.

The Distance Selling Regulations control how goods are sold online. The OFT publishes guidelines for the DSR. The actual regulations are lengthy but available online.

Under the g

endorsed by the OFT. The OFT had a press release about Safebuy in 2006 which states Safebuy had more than 1000 members and was growing at 40 members a month.

Wikipedia has no entry for Safebuy, which surprised me and made me wonder why the people’s encyclopedia had no entry for Safebuy when it is supported by such high level names.

When I wrote to Safebuy in January this year asking for the private company to state how it is held accountable, I got no reply at all. This week I contacted my Southend Trading Standards office and they said it appears the sites supported by Safebuy have unlawful Terms and Conditions. The principal trading standards officer, Ian Ralph, referred this matter to the OFT.

The controversially is about refunds and returns. Refunds are difficult in online retail, as a refund would result in a heavy loss to the retailer. When profits are small, as they are in retail, one return can wipe out profits from ten sales. So retailers try and make returns hard.

The Distance Selling Regulations control how goods are sold online. The OFT publishes guidelines for the DSR. The actual regulations are lengthy but available online.

Under the g

or the private company to state how it is held accountable, I got no reply at all. This week I contacted my Southend Trading Standards office and they said it appears the sites supported by Safebuy have unlawful Terms and Conditions. The principal trading standards officer, Ian Ralph, referred this matter to the OFT.

The controversially is about refunds and returns. Refunds are difficult in online retail, as a refund would result in a heavy loss to the retailer. When profits are small, as they are in retail, one return can wipe out profits from ten sales. So retailers try and make returns hard.

The Distance Selling Regulations control how goods are sold online. The OFT publishes guidelines for the DSR. The actual regulations are lengthy but available online.

Under the g

online retail, as a refund would result in a heavy loss to the retailer. When profits are small, as they are in retail, one return can wipe out profits from ten sales. So retailers try and make returns hard.

The Distance Selling Regulations control how goods are sold online. The OFT publishes guidelines for the DSR. The actual regulations are lengthy but available online.

Under the guidelines from the OFT, we see some strange rules, but none the less they are rules enforceable by the OFT. Under 3.64, consumers have the right the cancel the contract without returning the goods. The contract has no legal basis when it states goods must be returned within a set period of time in order to obtain a refund. Under 3.46, the consumer has the right to a refund without returning the goods.

The guidelines under 3.47 even state that a refund cannot be withheld even when the consumer fails to take statutory care of the goods. The regulations clearly are unsound, but they are still the law. We have to live by the law, or descend into chaos.

If I look at many websites supported by Safebuy, I can see that the Terms and Conditions require a return of goods for a refund. Though that accords with common sense, and also established practice in online retail, it is not legal.

I pulled up one website from the Safebuy site at random, and after looking at a few, it was clear that there was a general breach of law. The one I looked at first was HomeandGardenGifts, which is endorsed by TrustUK, Safebuy and GA. Its Terms and Conditions state:

“Upon receipt of the goods we will give you a full refund of the amount paid excluding P & P or an exchange or credit as required.”

Those terms breach the guidelines setup by the OFT and they appear to be illegal. They do appear to conform to commonsense, but they also appear to be illegal.

My experience is that when schemes are set up in the private sector to “protect consumers” they are usually just s