[imagesource: Alamy]

The hardest part of online shopping should be that stage between when your basket is full, and actually following through with the purchase.

It’s all fun and games until you have to enter your card details, and then it becomes very real.

From there on out, it’s a waiting game, with some of South Africa’s largest online retailers often delivering within a matter of days.

But then you wait a little longer, and longer still, until you realise that package ain’t ever rocking up at your door. What happens next?

According to Law for All, there are protections in place to ensure that consumers aren’t given the runaround:

The Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008 (CPA), is not the only law that protects consumers but lays a solid foundation by promoting a fair, accessible and sustainable marketplace for products and services.

The CPA entitles consumers to the delivery of goods and performance of services as agreed and in an acceptable manner, also when shopping online. This means that late deliveries in South Africa are unacceptable. Suppliers must deliver goods on the agreed date, time and place.

If the specifics haven’t been agreed, the supplier must provide the products within a reasonable time.

The law states that the supplier must communicate delays to the consumer, and if the delivery is late, the consumer may cancel the transaction without incurring any penalty.

Along with the refund, the consumer also has the right to claim interest, as well as costs incurred due to the supplier’s failure to meet the terms and conditions of the purchase agreement.

Hang on, what exactly are the terms of the agreement? Here’s Polity:

Online retailers must provide online shoppers with essential information on its website, including its full names, physical address, adequate description of the goods or services being sold, the price payable and the terms of the agreement of sale.

Should the online retailer not do so, you have the right in terms of section 43 of ECTA [Electronic Communications Act] to cancel the online purchase agreement within 14 days.

All of this should come with the caveat that COVID-19 has placed a great deal of stress on local suppliers, many of whom are operating with reduced staff in line with various safety precautions.

Because of this, and because now really is the time to buy local, you may consider being a tad more patient.

Bear in mind the above applies only to orders made from South African retailers, and getting a refund from purchases made overseas is an entirely different prospect.

Rather than navigate that labyrinth, we suggest enlisting the help of a service like Postbox Courier, which ensures that the goods arrive at your door within a timeous manner.

You can even order products that don’t ship to South Africa, using an overseas address, with the added bonus of bypassing customs.

Go on, save yourself from typing those emails to retailers you never hear from again.

Back to purchases from local retailers, and if you do wish to enforce your rights after a dispute, consider the following action, says Law For All:

• an ombudsman with jurisdiction;
• an alternative dispute resolution agent;
• the National Consumer commission
• the National Consumer Tribunal;
• a Consumer Court, Small Claims Court, or another court of law with jurisdiction.

You can find a list of the various ombudsman schemes in South Africa here.

I hope for your sake it doesn’t come to that, but there are options other than having a good moan on social media.

[sources:lawforall&polity]