Law suits you if sellers are in UK

BRITAIN has some of the world’s most effective consumer protection laws.

So I’m always warning people of the dangers of buying goods from overseas online because you get none of these protections.

The other reason is the number of horror stories I regularly hear.

Take reader Susan’s online experience buying two Ted Baker suits for her husband from a trader operating in Singapore.

The website said there were slight imperfections with the suits’ stitching but they would be easy for the purchaser to repair.

One which Susan bought was reduced from £399 to £250, the other from £369 to £199.

Thinking she was bagging herself a bargain, Susan proceeded to purchase the suits and then made a bank transfer, in the sum of £449 plus £35 postage, to the trader.

One of the suits arrived two weeks later. It all looked as described but Susan, of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, then noticed it was not the size she ordered.

She immediately emailed the trader. Since then she has emailed several more times.

Laptop

Several weeks later Susan has not received a response from the trader or the second suit.

There is no phone number given on the website. It looks highly likely she has lost her money. Duncan, of Hartlepool, bought a new Macbook Pro laptop online from a trader in China. Like Susan he paid via a bank transfer.

Amazingly the laptop did arrive, brand new and in good working

Aorder. Duncan therefore felt that he had grabbed an amazing deal because the purchase price was around 30 per cent cheaper than he had seen anywhere else.

The only drawback was that it had an EU plug but this was supplied with an adapter. After 13 weeks the laptop stopped working. He tried to contact the trader but got no response. He contacted Apple, who told him the warranty was void because he used the wrong power supply and the trader should not have sold it to him.

They also told him that he could have bought a UK power supply when he purchased the laptop, but that was no help.

If you buy from an overseas trader always use your credit card, so you get the protection of section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Never do a bank transfer.