UK internet shoppers are spending £100m pounds a year
more than they expected as a result of hidden charges according to
the findings of an Office of Fair
Trading report.
The OFT estimated that 1.2 million internet shoppers are unaware
of these charges during the buying process, but still went on with
their purchase and paid £60 million to £100 million more than they
were expecting each year as a result.
“For instance, for 47% of the flights we looked at, the final
‘check-out’ price was higher than the initial price. For these, the
median price increase was 19%, but many increases were much more,”
said the report.
In a practice named “philfing” by e-tailer
MoreComputers.com, websites
hide extra charges such as delivery, credit-card surcharges and
insurance costs.
Brian Trevaskiss, operations manager at MoreComputers.com said it
is good news that the OFT now has this practice on its radar.
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