Seven out of 10 people have potentially been scammed online by misleading practices such as hidden charges, subscription traps and fake reviews, a survey reveals.
A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) study found that 71% of shoppers had come across tactics designed to manipulate them.
These ‘sneaky’ sales tactics include subscription traps, which mislead a customer into signing up to and paying for an unwanted service that can then be difficult to cancel, and surprise compulsory fees, charges or taxes being added during an online purchase.
According to the UK-wide survey, many respondents reported that they had wasted money on a disappointing product or experience, spent cash they couldn’t afford to or wasted time trying to undo the harm caused.
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Around 85% of those questioned believed that businesses using such practices are being dishonest with their customers, with 83% being less likely to buy from them in the future.
Of those who had experienced misleading online practices, the biggest concern was about hidden charges (85%), followed by subscription traps (83%), fake reviews (80%), and pressure selling (50%).
Londoner Jo Robinson spent over £800 on presents this last Christmas only to be misled.
“It’s frustrating to know that many of the deals I went for weren’t the ‘last chance to buy’ that I believed at…
