 |
||||||
Home  Print |
||||||
|
||||||
Who is Howard and what can he do? Howard is a handy little interactive shopping assistant who can help you become a better net shopper. He can help you tell the serious from the less authentic internet shops before you make a purchase, and he can give you plenty of good advice on shopping on international websites. Activate Howard and with just a few clicks of a button he can help you check a number of points that practical experience shows can help determine whether a website is reliable. That means as a consumer, you won't have to surf the net for hours checking a lot of websites before you even start shopping. Howard can't guarantee that you'll get a bargain, but hopefully he can prevent you being cheated when shopping online. Howard can help you with this specific information:
Read below about how you can use this information. When the website was registered/updated If a website has been registered recently, you should take extra care when doing business with them, especially if the prices on the website are also very low and payment in advance is required. Practical experience shows that this combination is often seen on fraudulent websites. Results of an Archive.org search Archive.org is an organisation that continuously archives copies of all websites. If this site can provide some old copies of the website you are visiting, showing similar content over an extended period of time, this would suggest that the shop is reliable. Howard visits the archive while you shop, and returns to let you know if the archive has any records on the shop you are visiting. Official Company Register information about the company You can use this information to check that the shop is actually listed on the Official Company Register, and what information has been registered by public agencies on the online shop in question. However, you should be aware that the check is only effective if the web trader has given you the correct registration number. The results of a Google search If other consumers have experienced problems with a specific online shop, you can often find this out by running the shop's URL (the name of the website) through the Google search engine. If the first couple of pages of Google's search results contain negative references to the shop in question, there may be good reason to be extra cautious. If the website is a member of an e-commerce trustmark scheme If the web trader has chosen to be affiliated with a trustmark scheme, this is often a sign that he has considered and is interested in ensuring your rights. The organisation behind the trustmark scheme often also monitors the web trader's compliance with the trustmark's rules and regulations, which you can normally find by clicking on the trustmark logo. In the response field, you can see the trustmark scheme(s) that the online shop is affiliated with, according to our information. For the time being, we only have a link to the Danish trustmark scheme and so the results of this search should be combined with the results of the next search (Trustmarks to look for in the country in question). Trustmarks to look for in the country in question If the web trader has chosen to be affiliated with a trustmark scheme, this is often a sign that he has considered and is interested in ensuring your rights. The organisation behind the trustmark scheme will also normally monitor the web trader's compliance with the trustmark's rules and regulations, which you can find by clicking on the trustmark logo. Howard will show you which trustmark schemes to look for in the country you have entered. The general cancellation period in the country in question You always have a cancellation period of at least 7 working days from delivery of the goods/from the ordering of a service when you make purchases within the EU. However, some countries guarantee a longer cancellation period. Howard will tell you the length of the general cancellation period in the web trader's country of origin. You should be aware that the right of cancellation does not apply to all products and services, and that in some cases this right may be subject to special conditions. The general limitation period in the country in question You have a minimum of 2 years' right of complaint when making purchases within the EU. However, in some countries, the period of complaint is longer than 2 years. Howard will tell you the length of the period of complaint in the web trader's country of origin. Examples of price comparison sites in the country in question Price comparison sites can be useful when surfing for goods on the internet, both when finding foreign web traders and also as many of these services enable consumers to evaluate the web trader after the business transaction is complete. This can help give you an idea of such aspects as whether the shop delivers on time. Howard currently has examples of Danish and German price comparison sites, but more new countries will be added during 2007. Contact information for your national European Consumer Centre Your national European Consumer Centre can assist you with questions or problems concerning cross-border transactions within Europe. Howard will provide you with contact information on the European Consumer Centre in your country. How do you use him? Howard is easy to use. Simply type in the name of the website you want to check and you're on your way. If you also type in the web trader's country of origin, and perhaps the company registration number (both should be visible on the trader's website), then you can get even more information on the trader. What to do:
Howard will then present the results he was able to find based on the information you have entered. By clicking on the "Info" fields in the right-hand column, you will find an explanation of how you can use the individual pieces of information. This is also explained above in the section called "What can he do?". The homepage also contains useful advice on internet shopping. Click on the button for good advice and a new window will open with a more in-depth explanation. Who created him? Howard was developed for: ECC Denmark is the Danish section of the European Consumer Centre Network, which works across borders to make pan-European e-trading easier for consumers. ECC Denmark is financed by the National Consumer Agency and the EU Commission. What languages is he available in? At present, Howard is available in Danish, English, Hungarian, Norwegian and Swedish versions. During 2008, he will be available in several other European languages. If you encounter errors or problems If you have trouble using Howard, or encounter errors, you are welcome to contact us at info@forbrugereuropa.dk or telephone +45 3266 9000. If you can suggest improvements Howard is still under development and will be regularly expanded to include new databases. If you can suggest improvements, please contact us at info@forbrugereuropa.dk or telephone +45 3266 9000. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
