safety of online payments

slopemaster

Not sure if this is the right place for this Q, but here goes...
I want to buy some stuff online and concerned the websites might be dodgy. I am quite prepared to risk the actual money I pay for the goods - ie I pay but the goods never arrive. What I do not want is to take any avoidable risk of them being able to get EXTRA money from my bank account or credit card.
From this PoV, is it safer to pay by credit card (on the basis I can contact the credit card co in case of fraud)? Or by AlertPay (which I'd never heard of but is apparently a PayPal type thing)? Or theres something called a wire transfer, which I'm supposing is American for BACS (but I'm dubious about giving my bank details)?
Any thoughts please?

456789

which website is it?

The best options are credit card and paypal

Do not do a wire transfer or western union!! lots of people get scammed by this all the time

slopemaster

456789 wrote: »

which website is it?

I've not chosen it yet but I want to buy medicine.
From abroad, probably India.
(I will now get flamed, I expect.)

456789 wrote: »

Do not do a wire transfer or western union!! lots of people get scammed by this all the time

OK, thats helpful, thanks

Dabooka

Surely the point is any site where you suspect the goods won't actually arrive is one to avoid to prevent card fraud? I think you've kind of answered your own question here....

slopemaster

Dabooka wrote: »

Surely the point is any site where you suspect the goods won't actually arrive is one to avoid to prevent card fraud? I think you've kind of answered your own question here....

Not really.
I'm prepared to risk say 30 quid to (hopefully) get several courses of antibiotics for my recurring tooth infections.
Otherwise each time I have an epic finding a dentist to see me, and then have to pay at least 25 quid just to get 15 amoxicillin. (When the actual cost is pennies.)
So I see it as making sense as long as I estimate the chance of getting the goods at better than 50% - and as long as I don't risk getting ripped off for more than the actual amount I pay....

underlay_guru

Hi,

Being from India, there is a high possibility the medicine will be a FAKE. I would avoid buying any medicines, tablets etc of any kind from anyone outside of Europe.

This website may give you a little bit of an insight:
http://www.realdanger.co.uk/real_danger_of_counterfeit_medicines/

slopemaster

Thanks, and I do appreciate that there are risks...
But that site is run by Pfizer, who are not exactly unbiased...!
When I lived abroad I was used to being able to buy all kinds of stuff direct from the pharmacy

heloid

In this situation could he claim the amount back from Visa/MC if the goods don't arrive with their security policy or would they deem this as an unacceptable risk?

456789

slopemaster wrote: »

I've not chosen it yet but I want to buy medicine.
From abroad, probably India.
(I will now get flamed, I expect.)

If you know someone going on holiday to India or some other country where medicine can be gotten easily you could ask them to bring it back with them

slopemaster

456789 wrote: »

If you know someone going on holiday to India or some other country where medicine can be gotten easily you could ask them to bring it back with them

I wish I could just go there on holiday myself.
Then I would go with empty suitcases and bring back not just medecine, but suitcases full of silk clothes all made-to-measure...

slopemaster

Does anyone know anything about those single-use credit cards I seem to have heard of?