Government urged to improve protection for online shoppers

Switzerland's federal commission for consumer issues has urged the government to provide more safeguards for people who shop online. The commission wants e-commerce customers to have the same rights as those enjoyed by more traditional shoppers.

Switzerland’s federal commission for consumer issues has urged the government to provide more safeguards for people who shop online. The commission wants e-commerce customers to have the same rights as those enjoyed by more traditional shoppers.

The commission says its recommendations are necessary because many customers feel e-commerce is unreliable and risky. With further protections built into the Code of Obligations, it believes people will be more willing to shop online.

“Consumers have a feeling of insecurity and mistrust towards electronic commerce… protection is indispensable to give consumers confidence,” the commission said in a statement.

It added that, according to statistics from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, one in four web-sites of suppliers were unknown or unidentifiable. In one out of ten cases, the buyer’s credit card was debited but goods were never received.

The commission said it was asking for the reforms in order “to strengthen international collaboration and co-operation regarding e-commerce”. It said that it was also proposing that the government bring Swiss law into line with European Union rules.

The recommendations also include the sale of goods via television, radio and fax.

The planned changes are compatible with guidelines worked out at the ministerial conference of the OECD in Ottawa in October 1998.

Other recommendations include a school education programme aimed at young consumers, as well as an information programme for adults.

“The Federal Commission is aware that e-commerce is in a stage of rapid development. This is manifest in particular in the purchase of goods and services, including books, records, clothes or accessories and software,” the statement said. It added that most transactions are transnational.

In making the recommendations, the commission said it believed it was not necessary to create a federal law specifically for e-commerce.

swissinfo and agencies