Users should pay close attention to the offers proposed by merchants on Black Friday, and among other aspects of an operational nature, they should check through the scamadviser.com portal if the online store is real and if the products sold are authentic, informs the National Communications Administration and Regulation Authority (ANCOM), in a press release to be sent to AGERPRES on Monday.

„During the period dedicated to Black Friday promotional offers, users may face delayed deliveries of products purchased online or fraud attempts when delivering parcels. ANCOM recommends users to pay close attention to the delivery options and conditions, as well as the authenticity of the information throughout the entire online purchase process. The increased volume of purchases of various products during the Black Friday period has a significant impact on the courier activity in Romania. In this period, given the large number of orders, there may be delays in the delivery of parcels or of their damage or loss during transport (…) In the context where the online environment is increasingly exposed to fraud, in order to determine how safe the online purchase of products is, ANCOM and the National Cyber Security Directorate recommend that buyers visit scamadviser.com to check if the online store is real and if the products sold are genuine”, notes the institution.

ANCOM also draws the attention of users not to respond to messages (text message, e-mail) apparently sent by a postal service provider requesting access to a link and filling in personal information (for example, bank card number) necessary for the delivery of a package.

„If the user has been the victim of a fraud or has responded to such a message, it is necessary to inform the postal service provider and contact the police authorities to start investigations. In addition, in the case of goods sent through the cash on delivery service, ANCOM recommends that before paying the requested amount, the recipients who receive the package should make sure that they or another family member has made such an order online users should contact, first of all, the online store (…) In the case of a merchant from a state that is not a member of the European Union, the resolution of complaints is carried out according to the mentions on the respective merchant’s website”, states the regulator.

At the same time, in the absence of an amicable solution by the online store, consumers can contact the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) – if the trader is located on the territory of Romania, respectively the local representative of the European Consumer Center – in case of a trader from another member state of the European Union (EU).

The authority emphasizes at the same time that when making online orders, users should pay more attention to the offers proposed by merchants and check a number of aspects, such as: the delivery options offered by the online store; the methods of delivery of the good (to the address, to a work point of the supplier or to an automatic delivery system – locker, easybox, package machine, parcel box or parcel dispatch boxes); payment methods for the good upon delivery (cash or POS); the delivery term; if door delivery of bulky products (furniture, household appliances etc) is offered; if the packaging of the delivered package shows signs of damage, in which case a document specifying the condition of the package may be requested or the package may be refused; identity of the sender.

According to the cited source, for any subsequent complaint it is important that users keep all the documents that can prove the purchase made (invoice, tax receipt, delivery form).

The representatives of ANCOM mention the fact that the institution cannot require the postal service provider involved in the delivery to resume the delivery of the returned package, without shipping costs, or to offer possible compensation as a result of the way in which it managed its shipment. Instead, the Authority can analyze and, as the case may be, sanction the conduct of the supplier involved in the delivery of the good from the perspective of the legislation in the field of postal services.

AGERPRES