Consumers’ association: many online stores still ignore return rules

According to the Consumers’ Association, many online stores still do not comply with the rules that apply to consumer returns. For example, 44 percent of the shops surveyed do not repay the amount owed, not fully or too late.

According to the consumer organization, 32 percent of online stores refunded the original purchase amount late or not at all after the three ordered products were returned. There were fifteen stores that did not refund all three items or did not refund them late. In some cases, they even had to wait 100 days for a refund. In addition, according to the Consumers’ Association, there are also shops that refuse a return in its entirety.

The Consumers’ Association has established that the reimbursement of the delivery costs has improved somewhat compared to 2016, but that there are still problems. In 2016, 36 percent of the web shops did not reimburse the delivery costs for at least one of the orders, while that percentage is now 22. In 2013, this was still the case at 44 percent of the stores. According to the Consumers’ Association, creative excuses are sometimes used when refusing to reimburse delivery costs.

For the survey, the Consumers’ Association ordered more than six hundred articles from more than two hundred web stores at various times. The ordered items were returned within fourteen days, which according to the Distance Selling Act is the minimum period within which a consumer can return a purchased product. Shops are then obliged to refund the purchase amount and any delivery costs.

The Distance Selling Act dates back to 2001 and gives consumers the right to return a purchased product within fourteen days and to cancel the purchase. The shop must then refund the purchase amount and the delivery costs, although the consumer may be asked to bear the costs of returning the goods themselves. In addition to this right of withdrawal for consumers, shops also have an information obligation, whereby they must inform consumers extensively and clearly about their rights.