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          e-commerce/online sale or transaction

          If the business is in Australia, you should contact your State or Territory Consumer Affairs or Fair Trading agency for advice about your complaint (click below on your state/territory for further information).

          VIC NSW QLD SA WA  TAS ACT NT


          Or you can contact the appropriate industry dispute resolution agency where there is one           (check the categories on our site).

          You may also find the 'Australian Guidelines for Electronic Commerce' useful. They seek to promote consumer confidence in electronic commerce, by providing guidance to businesses on how to deal with consumers when engaged in business-to-consumer electronic commerce. The guidelines update and replace the Australian E-Commerce Best Practice Model, which was released by the Australian Government in May 2000. You can access them on the Commonwealth Treasury's website here.


          If the business is based overseas, it is likely to be much harder to have your complaint resolv          ed. However the following international initiative may help:


          econsumer.gov

          On April 24, 2001, responding to the challenges of multinational Internet fraud, and working to enhance consumer protection and consumer confidence in e-commerce, thirteen countries unveiled econsumer.gov, a joint effort to gather and share cross-border e-commerce complaints.

          The project has two components: a multilingual public Web site, and a government, password-protected Web site. The public site provides general information about consumer protection in all countries that belong to the I CPEN (International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network) , contact information for consumer protection authorities in those countries, and an online complaint form. All information is available in English, French, German, and Spanish. Using the existing Consumer Sentinel network (a database of consumer complaint data and other investigative information operated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission), the incoming complaints will be shared through the government Web site with participating consumer protection law enforcers. MORE INFO.

          You can also contact the Consumer Affairs/Protection agency in the country where the company is located. The Members Directory of Consumers International is a starting point for this information.
          Go to           the Consumers International website and click on Members at top.

          And, if you paid by credit card, you can ask your bank to cancel the transaction and reverse the           payment to the company. Banks' policies on this vary, so you will need to check.



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