Black Friday sales shoppers should ensure they have the full name and address of any business from whom they are purchasing goods, the Consumers Association has warned.
Dermott Jewell, policy adviser with the association said shoppers needed to be careful of traders who set up specifically for the coming weekend.
“There are too many elements out there, traders who have set up specifically for this weekend, who will be selling counterfeit goods, who will be trying to take on any element of banking detail that they can and make money while they can,” he warned.
Black Friday was invented in the 1930s in the US, where it falls on the day after Thanksgiving Day and is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
It did not exist here a decade ago, but has now been adopted by many Irish retailers. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Jewell also cautioned online shoppers to avoid bundling goods into one large for delivery. He said this could lead to customers being charged Vat or customs duty.
“It happens very easily, a lot of websites when providing you with the closing element of the sale, if you’re buying more than one item they say ‘would you like to save money and bundle these and send in one package,’ that’s one of the traps you could quite easily fall into,” he said.
“As a result you end up then in a situation where it will attract Vat.”
Vat
He said if the total value of the package exceeds the value of €150 then, the consumer may take on Vat and customs duty and an agent’s charge. The agent will call to the door offering the goods ordered, but at a cost of additional Vat, additional duty and their charge.
“Realistically, you’ve got to look at the overall price, keep a track on where you’re buying; if you’re buying in dollars try to find out exactly what is the exchange rate, know what you’re going to purchase,” Mr Jewell said.
“It’s almost like having a list and sticking to it, so you know you’re not going fall out of it at any given time.”
He said that could be tricky, when people get caught up in the positivity of being online.
“Relax and take away a degree of the urgency,” he advised. “It’s your time, you can purchase quite easily and quite correctly.”
He also said if purchasing within the EU, there were very good elements of protection.
“There’s a 14-day cooling off period, from day of receipt of goods to send back, it should also take no more than 14 days for a refund.”
