As American retail holidays continue to go global, Irish consumers are expected to spend more than €22 million today on 'cyber Monday' deals, an increase of 17 percent on last year. Cyber Monday is a spin-off of Black Friday, but the focus is on online retail.
It comes at a perfect time for Irish shoppers as December starts, and the run-up to Christmas goes up a notch. If you are planning on doing your whole Christmas shopping online today, or considering a few bargains, but you are not sure of the ins and outs of internet shopping - here's a crash course on your online consumer rights.
The basics
When shopping online you have all the same fundamental rights that you have when shopping on the high street - in fact in some areas there is even more protection to avoid potential scams.
It is worth pointing out that most Irish legislation is specific to dealing with sites in the EU, and that consumer-to-consumer trading on sites like Ebay is not covered by the standard legislation.
Cooling-off time
When you shop online you have the right to a cooling off period of 14 days - during this period you can withdraw from the contract and return your purchase to the seller without having to give any reason.
There is a bit of a catch here - you normally have to cover the cost of returning the goods. One issue for Irish shoppers is that we do not have the massive e-commerce sites that they have in other countries, meaning that we purchase a lot of goods from UK sites like Amazon UK and ASOS - if you change your mind you could have to fork out to ship the goods back to where they came from.
Also, you cannot return customised goods, built to your specifications or personalised in any way or unsealed DVDs, CDs and computer software packages (without a valid reason, other than changing your mind).
Faulty goods
If goods are faulty, or not as described on the website, you are first entitled to have the goods replaced, or repaired. If that does not happen, then you can get a full refund.
Any faults that are discovered within the first six months are presumed to have existed at the time of delivery.
After six months the consumer has to prove that the fault was not caused by misuse - if they can prove that, then they have the same rights that they have in the first six months for up to two years after the purchase.
Refunds on delayed and undelivered goods
Goods bought on EU sites should be delivered within 30 days. If it will take longer, you should be informed before you buy the product.
If the goods do not come, the buyer must contact the retailer and agree a date that the goods must be delivered by - if this second deadline is missed the consumer can cancel the purchase.
There are times when you can immediately get out of the purchase if the goods are late. For instance - a wedding dress that is not delivered in 30 days, and misses the wedding date - these special circumstances can be taken to account, and the purchase can be cancelled.
When a sale is cancelled - the seller is obliged to pay a full refund within 14 days.
Clear information
Under EU law, retailers must outline the total cost of the product, including all taxes and delivery charges, before the purchase is made.
The product or service must be clearly described on the site, and the seller must supply contact details.
More detailed information is available on the European Consumer Center Ireland website.
