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About Us

Welcome to UK Shop Index, we are a British based Internet shopping website that lists a range of British shops. UK Shop Index was designed for people looking for products and services online.

If you are new to the internet, and are not sure how to shop, it couldn't be easier. All you have to do is select a category from the homepage, and click to see what shops are indexed. Otherwise you can use our product search to find whichever shop or service you desire. After you have used this website hopefully you will realise the full benefits of online shopping, and wonder whether you need to shop on the high street again.

Security is very important to us, so we try to list the most secure online shops we can find. But to keep your mind at rest, when purchasing goods and services online make sure the website has some security badges or verification (any online shop that has security verification will tell you about it). Also look to the bottom right hand corner of your browser for a security icon when purchasing.

How long does it take to get a site approved

There is no deadline for this process, so the amount of time it takes for your site to be accepted or rejected can vary. Most of the time our editors try to process submissions within a day, so if you haven't received a response to your site-profile submission within a couple of days, you can post a question on the forum of the category to which you submitted the site and ask someone to review your submission. We have currently had problems with our forum and therefore its off-line for maintenance work, however it should be online very soon. We do feel the only time you we need to post on the forum concerning the submission of your shop, is if an email wasn't recieved due to an server error.

How secure are the shops at UK Shop Index

The majority of UK shops listed at UK Shop Index use a secure server for credit card / payment transactions and therefore should be secure, however this is no guarantee. You should always check the shop you are buying from has some kind of payment security (the shop should advertise this on their web site, otherwise email them asking for their security procedures). There are two ways to detect whether a shop uses a secure server,

• 1. Check the web site to see if it has any security certificates and read its secuity statement. On the previous page is a link to a page showing examples of security certificates.
• 2. Otherwise it should be apparent from your browser's display that you have entered a secure server. You should get an alert, informing you of the site's status, and your key or lock in the bottom left hand corner of your browser will appear locked of highlighted. You should also get a blue line across the top of the browser window. An example of a security alert is below,

Internet Explorer Symbol

Netscape Symbol

If neither of these two things occur, then do not proceed to enter your credit card details.

If things go wrong

What happens if things go wrong when buying products over the Internet ? Well the Office of Fair Trading web site says "you have the same rights as when buying by telephone, mail order or any other method of distance shopping."

To find out how to complain, who can help, taking it further and going to court, then please visit the Office of Fair Trading.

They should beable to give you best advice possible and also give you very useful advice before shopping on the Internet from UK based web sites and companies. Here are some quotes about online shopping.

Yours rights when buying online in the UK

The Office of Fair Trading has published the rights you have when buying products from UK shops on the Internet. Below are rights published by the Office of Fair Trading on their web site,

• clear information about the goods or services offered before you buy
• written confirmation of this information after you have made your purchase
• a 'cooling off' period during which an order can be cancelled without any reason and a full refund made
• a full refund if the goods or services are not provided by the date you agreed. If you didn't agree a date, then you are entitled to a refund if the goods or services are not provided within 30 days.
  

There are cases where these additional rights do not apply

• financial services such as insurance or banking
• online auctions - be careful when buying at online auctions because auctioneers, unlike other sellers, can refuse to accept responsibility for the quality of the goods they auction. Read the conditions of sale with care. But, unless the seller is a private individual, the standard terms of the contract set out in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994 still apply.
• vending machine purchases
• contracts involving the sale of land

Internet Scams

The Office of Fair Trading has published a list of Internet scams people should look for when shopping on the Internet. UK Shop Index can pretty much guarantee that none of the shops we list are scams, but we can never be 100% sure and it's worthwhile our users know that these Internet scams exist. A lot of the sites we list are household names eg, Comet and Dixons, and our other sites usually have security certificates and guarantees about security. What you should be careful of according to The Office of Fair Trading is sites that,

• Hidden addresses - traders who try to sell goods or services using an anonymous email address or post office box number and make it hard for you to find their actual location.
• Capital letters shouting at you - even the look and wording of adverts can make you suspicious. Be wary of adverts that shout at you, like 'MAKE MILLIONS ON THE INTERNET' or 'How to make a ££££million!!!'.
• Hidden expenses - be wary of advertisements promising 'no start up fee' and then asking for a one-off fee.
• Promises of instant wealth - if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
• Vague references - 'Thousands of satisfied customers!' might sound impressive, but you're rarely given enough information to check them out.
• This is not a scam - Don't fall for this trick. A legitimate business doesn't need to convince you of its legality.
• Pay for a secret - some scams will offer a 'secret' money-making method available 'only to a select number of people'. But a typical scam reaches thousands of users. Details of the scheme are kept hidden until after you pay a fee