Christmas Cheer – Why online shoppers should exercise caution during the festive period

As Black Friday approaches (28 November) shoppers are urged to exercise caution with their online shopping. With the advancements in technology, online shopping is becoming more and more popular, particularly around Christmas time. Consumers can enjoy a less frantic shopping experience from home.

In this blog, Pauline Roberts, Senior Associate in our Specialist Claims Team and Vice President of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) explains the dangers of shopping online and the lack of protection for consumers if they purchase a defective or harmful product.

As the profits of online market places increase, the protection which should be afforded to its consumers doesn’t. In 2024 one of the biggest online market places reported an annual profit of $311 billion which is up 16% on the previous year. Many online market places are escaping liability for products purchased online by using legal loopholes. They describe themselves as merely facilitators or distributors of the products on their websites. They display products for sale on behalf of third party suppliers and manufacturers.

For example, many products are manufactured in China but this is not always obvious on the online market place. Once the financial transaction is completed, the online market place may have no further involvement in the supply of the product. Some products arrive in a branded box from the market place warehouse, whilst others can be sent directly to the consumer without ever being in the possession of the online market place.

This can mean that when a product turns out to be substandard or dangerous, consumers can find themselves unable to bring a claim against the online marketplace for harmful products when they have been sold to them by third party supplier. Many of these third-party sellers and manufacturers are abroad or can’t be traced or they may be uninsured or bankrupt.

When a product injures someone, they could normally pursue a claim against the retailer who sold the product to them for breach of contract. They could also pursue a claim against the manufacturer of the product for breach of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 for a product that is not as safe as persons generally are entitled to expect. If the retailer or manufacturer is abroad and fails to respond or can’t be located then pursuing a claim, obtaining a judgment and enforcing that judgment can be extremely difficult.

The European Union and our Government intend to tighten up the outdated product safety laws to block this loophole. The Law Commission is carrying out a review of the UK Consumer laws and is encouraging interested parties to respond to a consultation on how our laws can be improved. Once this exercise is complete, they will present their recommendations to the Government. We want our UK laws to offer at least, if not more, protection as the new proposed EU product liability laws.

One of the recommendations being considered is to define online market places as a producer of products sold through their websites. This would solve the problems involved in trying to trace a supplier or manufacturer abroad. Another potential change could be extending the time limit in which to pursue a claim against a manufacturer. In a personal injury claim this is normally three years from the date of the injury, but manufacturers have a 10 year longstop limitation date from the date that their product is put into circulation; after this date a consumer’s right to pursue a claim is extinguished. The proposal is to extend this to 25 years.

In the meantime, there are steps you can take to reduce the risks until our legislation is updated.

• Always check to see who you are actually buying your Christmas gifts from, where they are based, in the UK or abroad, read the customer reviews for red flags and be aware of any refund or returns polices.
• For purchases over £100, use a credit card so you can have the protections provided by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 where a consumer would be entitled to be indemnified by the credit card company if the manufacturer or supplier failed to satisfy a claim. In other words, the credit funder steps into the shoes of the supplier and must provide all of the remedies that are open to the consumer

If you were sold a product that turns out to be defective, was not of satisfactory quality or not fit for purpose and you have suffered a significant injury as a result, then you should be entitled to pursue a claim but only if you can identify who manufactured it, imported it into the UK or who you purchased it from.

Christmas should be a time of joy, not tragedy caused by unsafe gifts bought online. Be a savvy shopper and check before you click.