South Ayrshire Council News

”Buying from afar? – Know what your rights are!” is the advice from South Ayrshire Trading Standards for consumers during National Consumer Week.

The campaign organised nationally by the Trading Standards Institute and launched on Monday 12th November, is focusing on raising awareness among shoppers and sellers and to highlight the danger signs when dealing at a distance.

A spokeswoman for South Ayrshire Trading Standards said, “Some 20 million UK residents shopped online last year, spending more than £21 billion - but many of them are in the dark about their rights and the potential pitfalls involved. Many of the 62,000-plus UK businesses that trade online are also not aware as to their legal obligations to consumers. As part of National Consumer Week we will be putting some online retailers to the test to see how clued up they really are.”

The spokeswoman added, “The findings from a 14-month Office of Fair Trading market study into online shopping demonstrate the urgent need to improve awareness of rights and obligations among shoppers and sellers. This week our message to consumers is ‘know your rights,’ as in general shoppers have the right to send the goods back if they don’t like or want them in cases where they have bought the goods without direct face-to-face contact with the trader.”

Last year 280 of the 4,000 complaints from South Ayrshire consumers handled by the team of Trading Standards Advisors related to goods bought over the Internet or by mail order from suppliers all over the world. Fortunately, in the majority of occasions, the advisors were able to sort out the problem. In one example a local resident purchased some World War 2 memorabilia from a trader in Italy only to find that it was fake. The company handling the payment exchange wasn’t too helpful and after almost a year of fruitless correspondence the consumer sought help. Fortunately after their intervention the advisor was able to secure a refund for the customer.

Councillor Peter Convery, who is responsible for Trading Standards issues, added, "With the increasing use of the Internet, shopping is becoming a truly global experience, with more and more consumers shopping by computer and phone to buy all manner of things. Like mail order, some shoppers appreciate the convenience of not having to walk around the shops and can browse among a huge choice of goods in their own time. For others, such as those that are housebound, it may be their only option. However, we hope National Consumer Week will remind people that the advice they need before buying, such as do they have cancellation rights, is freely and easily available from Trading Standards and should help them avoid some of the worst pitfalls.”

Consumers or businesses seeking advice should call at the Trading Standards Advice Centre at 5/7 River Terrace, Ayr or call 01292 61 60 60 or check out the website at www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards