Online shopping, with confidence

1. Why shopping online is genuinely fine. Let’s start with the honest truth: shopping online is not a young person’s trick or a gamble.
2. Choosing where to buy. The easiest rule in this whole course: start with names you already know.
3. Paying wisely. How you pay matters just as much as where you buy.
4. Your rights, in plain English. Here is something that surprises many people: when you shop online in the UK, your rights are generally stronger than in a physical shop.
5. Buying from people, not shops. Websites such as Facebook Marketplace — and auction sites such as eBay when the seller is a private individual — are a different world from shopping with a business.
6. Spotting shopping scams. Shopping scams almost never start with a shop — they start with a message .
7. Keeping records: your paper trail. One last habit turns you from a hopeful shopper into a well-armed one: keep your paper trail.

1. Start with shops you know — and type the web address yourself rather than following links in emails or adverts.
2. New shop? Search its name plus the word “reviews” before you spend a penny.
3. A price that undercuts everyone else by half is a warning, not a bargain.
4. The padlock means the connection is private — it does not mean the shop is honest.
5. Over £100? Use a credit card — Section 75 makes the card company jointly responsible, up to £30,000.
6. Never pay a shop or a stranger by bank transfer — it is like posting cash.
7. Changed your mind? Most online purchases can go back within 14 days — and faulty goods rights last far longer.
8. Buying from an individual on a marketplace? See it before you pay, collect locally, and never send money for something unseen.
9. Delivery text asking for a small fee? Do not click — check your order yourself and forward the text to 7726 (free).
10. Caught out? Ring your bank straight away — dialling 159 reaches most UK banks — report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (in Scotland, ring Police Scotland on 101), and call us on 01202 775566 for friendly help.

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