HELP. How to check a website's legitimacy?

KC_2008

I have come across a website that I’m interested in purchasing items from but need some online shopping help. The website is overseas and therefore I’m a little worried about buying something online, sending the funds and then not receiving my items.

I just want some help to find out if the website is legitimate, how to tell if it is, what precautions I can take to make sure I get my items and don’t get ripped off. And any other information I should consider before purchasing.

I’ve had correspondence with the email address listed on the website and they have been helpful with any questions I have had, but of course they are going to be if they want my money. I also saw a post on this site (MoneySavingExperts.com) about legitimacy checkers but its all so technical when I looked them up on the sites provided, I’m so confused.

Any ideas, information anyone out there has would be greatly appreciated. I have been caught out/burned once before and don’t want that to happen again.

Thanks

red

I am sure you will get loads of help on here about this - there are loads of really savvy shoppers on this site. A few tips - try finding out the trading name of the company, an actual address and phone number. Pay by credit card. Before making the payment, call your bank and/or credit card company and ask if they have any blackmarks against the company in question. See if they are using a secure paying method, and ideally through a third party so they never see your credit card details directly. with regards to the website, there are specific registrations that are made to create a domain and also to have security certificates signed. if you are unsure, then my best advice would be to leave it...best of luck!

sherbie28

If you go on this site http://www.coolwhois.com/ and type in the web address you could see if the registration details match up with the contact details on the website. If I can't find the site on http://www.coolwhois.com/ then I don't buy from them.

geo555

Are the prices "too good to be true"?
Is the email address the same as the sites domain or a hotmail, yahoo web based email?
How can you pay? They may have visa signs all over the website, but they will say they have a problem with credit cards and need payment by bank transfer or Western Union.

wizard5353

Hi OP as sherbie28 pointed out, the easy way is to look for the basic signs and do a look up via a whois service. These are not complicated and give you the website owners details.

Also, I know this does not apply to the shop your looking at as it's not UK based but for reference when dealing with UK based websites look for the company registration number. Any UK trading business should have this on there website which shows they are registered with company house. This you can also check to confirm it matches the whois details. You tend to find the company registration number at the bottom of the pages or in the legal/t&c's pages.

Some eBay sellers have websites and have not registered at company house which does not mean they are fake but that they are not operating as a company (yet) I personally don't touch a web shop that does not list it's registration number but that's just my personal choice.

Why not ask members here to see if they have used the website before? I find recommendations from other forum members to be the best defense against fraud.

-TangleFoot-

Here are some tools I've found useful in the past:

• dtools.net WHOIS service
• McAfee SiteAdvisor
• WOT Web of Trust
• Companies House WebCHeck

In addition, make sure that the 'business' concerned has a land-line based telephone number and a real-world address, and that any pages you're entering personal details into are encrypted.

dmd22

Hi there,

Can anybody offer an opinion to the legitimacy of this site:

www.looksluggage.com

I have done a whois search and the address details match those on the website but I'm still a little concerned - They do not show up on Companies House.

Many thanks in advance

rsykes2000

The domain was created 28.01.03 so isn't a recent fly-by-night one. They have what appears to be proper contact details re address and telephone number. According to http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/vieshome.do?selectedLanguage=EN their VAT number is valid. I think you might be worrying a little too much about this one - I'd be happy to order from them if I wanted a designer handbag (which as I am male is quite unlikely...).

dmd22

Thanks rsykes2000, I was recently sucked in by the whole Zavvi Direct / Wii Fit scam so am trying to be extra cautious!

pinkdrink

dmd22 wrote: »

Hi there,

Can anybody offer an opinion to the legitimacy of this site:

www.looksluggage.com

I have done a whois search and the address details match those on the website but I'm still a little concerned - They do not show up on Companies House.

Many thanks in advance

It's always good to check companies house I agree however, not all UK businesses are required to register by law, hence they are called a business not a company. Our government opted for this to make it easy for small businesses to start up without red tape - think of all the self-employed plumbers, taxi drivers etc running their own business, can you imagine how hard it would be if they were required to register a company and all the legal paperwork/accounts that have to be submitted every year! Not all businesses are required to register for VAT either (the government only requires registration if the turnover is over £63k (this amount changes every year). To sum up, don't be put off just because they are not a registered company, they could be a legitimate business and you could be missing out!

lynn44

dmd22.....Yes I was stung my zavvi direct to, I am still waiting for my bank to refund me,I paid via electron
Did you receive letter from zavvi direct too ?
Did you get refund ?
Thanks