Shopping Safely at Christmas

How to Shop Safely Online

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Christmas is a time of year where shoppers are busy looking for presents for their loved ones. As shopping online becomes an increasing way to purchase gifts, it's important to know how to shop online safely and avoid a sad Christmas story where your financial details are taken for ride. Avoid a holiday disaster this season by shopping smart with these useful tips.

Why use a credit card?

It's usually a smart idea to make a purchases that is over £100 ($150) with a credit card. Credit cards have an extra added protection that usual debit cards do not. If your purchases go missing/undelivered or some fraudster has it's way with your details, you can be refunded by your credit card company. With a debit card this is a little hard to prove and it is under the discretion of the bank how they handle it.

The more you know the better

Shopping with an unknown website or a website you have not shopped on before means you should do a search on the company. If the website has a bad reputation you will know about it from customers that are unhappy with the merchant’s service. Customers will post in forums of their shopping experience with this retailer.

"S" is for secure

If you want to make sure you’re dealing with a secure site always look for website addresses that have “https” the “s” stands for secure. This way you know your sensitive information will go protected and that you are shopping on a safe website.

Protect yourself

Having the latest version of anti-virus software installed is a good way to defend yourself against viruses and hackers. Websites using the payment method of VISA will often have an added layer of defense, as they will ask for a security password before completing your order, making it a lot harder for criminals to use your financial details.

If your order doesn't arrive on time

Retailers will have a shipping/delivery page which states all information about their delivery period/promise. If they go over that date they should notify you and you have the right to be refunded if later you decide you don’t want the goods anymore. If you are receiving items from another country the 30 day limit should apply but also remember that items can get stuck at customs depending on your country regulations. Whether you’re buying electronics (mobile devices, computers, tablets etc.) or apparel (clothing, formal wear, evening dresses online etc.) it’s a good idea to check the delivery time to avoid disappointment.

Items that never arrive

Christmas presents which are late that bought online is bad but if your ordered items never arrive that’s worse. You will need to the seller and make a complaint. If the seller suddenly disappears into thin air it’s time to contact your debit or credit company to start a process of a refund.

The Do’s

Do be overly cautious, if the website looks a bit dodgy, asks for information you really don’t think they would need or doesn’t use a well known payment gateway for example PayPal then leave the site immediately. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Do shop with well-known retailers; often these will have delivery guarantees, secure payment methods and customer service if anything should go wrong.

The Don’ts

Don’t leave it too late! Although some of the best deals appear during the month of December remember that everyone else is also shopping online too. The retailers are under huge pressure this month to complete orders before Christmas, that’s a lot of Christmas presents to send out.

Don’t shop on a public computer or by using a public Wi-Fi network, in order to be extra secure it’s best to shop at home on your own password protected Internet connection. You never know who has used a public computer last and what viruses are lurking.

Stay safe this Christmas holiday and happy shopping.

For more fashion tips and tricks visit our blog www.GCGme.com/blog/ for some great advice and news. GCGme provides with you some great advice in shopping online and new trends. You can also keep up-to-date with new styles from our clothing range as well as look at behind the scenes from our photoshoots.

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