Online Shopping Problem: Who You Gonna Call?
Online shopping is quick, convenient, and usually reliable. But what if there’s a problem? For U.S. consumers, there are a number of options.
Begin with the information on the website. Look for a customer service or contact email. Be prepared with all the information on the problem. If you call a telephone number, be sure to get the full name of the person you speak to and keep notes of dates and outcomes. Ask for more than you’d be willing to accept in order to make room to negotiate a compromise. Allow the merchant a reasonable time to respond.
If the business is in your immediate area, many T.V. stations offer help to consumers to resolve problems. Be prepared with detailed notes.
Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau can help to resolve complaints. If there’s no physical address location on the website, try doing a “Whois” search to find the address of the domain’s owner. Then contact the nearest BBB to his location.
You may be able to pursue legal action with or without an attorney in small claims or civil court. Again, this works best if the business is located in or near your region. You may pay more in legal fees than you’d recover in a lawsuit.
Attorney General
You can also contact the Attorney General of the business owner’s state. Links to all Attorneys General are listed at naag.org.
The Federal Trade Commission offers helpful tips to help prevent identity theft. The FTC also maintains an online database for Internet related complaints. You can report spammers and scammers at ftc.gov.
Spam email and phishing emails can be forwarded to spam@uce.gov. Phishing emails can also be reported to reportphishing@antiphishing.org.
And you can report computer criminals to the FBI at www.ic3.gov.
Finally, if you are a U.S. citizen with a shopping complaint for a website outside the U.S. visit: www.econsumer.gov/english.
Aside from these, there are dozens of websites dedicated to helping consumers. Research these sites to register your complaint and find tips to help resolve it.
The best way to prevent problems is to exercise caution when shopping online. Using your common sense when shopping can prevent most problems before they happen.