Consumers’ online awareness of laws rises while so does e-tailers’ compliance

Between 2006 and 2009, consumers’ awareness of their rights while shopping online has risen, whilst the e-tailers selling to them have increased their legal compliance. That is according to research conducted by the Office of Fair Trading. Amongst the findings were:

• Consumers’ awareness of their rights when shopping online had risen from 49% to 62%.
• There was a fall in the numbers of consumers not knowing where to seek advice for their rights (16% from 28%).
• 26% of web sites had restrictions on cancellations, down from 38% in 2006.
• More sites complied with all aspects for which they were assessed – 21% compared to 17%.  

However, Paul Gershlick, a Partner at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP and editor of www.Upload-IT.com, comments: ‘This last figure is not encouraging. With consumers having more knowledge about their online rights and knowing where to turn to find out more, it’s important that more online businesses keep up and comply with their legal obligations.’