Before you order
Before you orderSafe online shopping: how to pay and what to check firstA practical routine for buying online: how to pay, what to check before you order, and how to keep your route to a refund open.
Before you orderHow to verify an online store before you payHow to check a shop in a company register, in VIES and in WHOIS, what each one actually tells you — and where verification stops being able to help.
Before you orderScam shops: the official lists, and nine signs that come soonerConsumer protection is national, so there is no single worldwide list of fraudulent shops — several countries publish their own, and most scam shops are on none of them. That is why the nine signs below matter more: they show up long before any authority gets involved.When something goes wrong
When something goes wrongReturns and refunds: what you can actually insist onA faulty item and a change of mind are two different claims with two different deadlines. What you can insist on, and what to do when a shop stalls.
When something goes wrongYour order never arrived: what to do, step by stepYou paid and the parcel never came. How long to wait, when to cancel, and where to go afterwards so that it actually achieves something.
When something goes wrongChargeback: how to get back money paid by cardA chargeback is a card payment dispute raised with your own bank. Which deadline applies, what your bank will ask for, and what to do if it is refused.
When something goes wrongHow to report a scam website, and what it actually changesA scam shop is reported to three places, each doing something different: only your bank returns money, a regulator can list the shop, the police prosecute.