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Is It Safe To Shop?
a) Make sure that the page where they want you to enter your credit card details is secure. If there is a picture of a small
yellow padlock in the bottom of your browser window this means that the site has a security certificate. When you see this
picture you know that the site has security built in and will encrypt your credit card for transmission
b) Make sure that you can contact them in as many ways as possible. You should look for a phone number, fax number, an full postal address, e-mail address, etc. Should anything go wrong with your purchase, you might need this information later.
c) Data Protection. Make sure that the shop has a stated Privacy Policy. A privacy policy explains what the merchant will do with the information that you provide it. If they don't have a privacy policy, you don't know what they're doing with your data.
d) Returns Policy. It's a good idea to see if they have a returns policy on the site. Hopefully you wont need it, but if they display one, chances are they're serious about customer service.
e) Terms & Conditions. All purchases have terms and conditions attached to them and you should be given the opportunity to read them before committing to buy your products. Whether you actually choose to read them or not is up to you.
Is It Safe to Use My Credit Card Online?
The simple answer is Yes, providing you are careful who you give it to.
Our recommendation is to always use a credit card when buying online. The problem with other payment methods (e.g. a debit card) is that you don't have the same level of protection as you do with a credit card. With a credit card there is always
something you can do if a problem arises. You can call your bank, tell them the problem and they will reverse the charge back to the merchant. Other methods don't provide this level of security.
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