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SHOPPING ONLINE IN EUROPE – 34% OF GOODS NEVER DELIVERED
European Consumer Centre Dublin announced the findings of the ECC Network Report on the Realities of the European online marketplace. The Report concludes that shopping on the internet is littered with problems but consumers have rights and must exercise them.
The ECC Network encountered three main problems when shopping online in the EU:
One in three goods were never delivered; key information was missing and returned goods were not reimbursed.
In 2002 thirteen ECCs participated in a shopping survey which involved 114 orders from webtraders in the EU. The following products were ordered: t-shirt, ink cartridges, paper, CD, DVD, toy, dictionary and watch. Only 75 of these orders resulted in a delivery. That means that 34% of the goods were not delivered.
In addition to the shopping exercise 262 EU websites were examined for the purpose of evaluating the quality of information provided. Among the provisions of the Distance Selling Directive, a consumer is given seven days (cooling-off) after receipt of the good/service to make a final decision whether or not to keep it. 32% of the websites gave no information regarding the consumer’s right to withdraw from the contract.
If the consumer decides to withdraw from an online contract the consumer is entitled to a refund. To test if the webtraders adhered to this provision the ECC network returned 57 of the 75 goods received. In 18 of those cases the network did not receive any refund. This represents 31.5%.
Fifteen Irish webtraders were examined for the quality of information provided. Only two of the websites complied with the cooling-off period of seven days.
“The results show that consumers experience numerous problems shopping online in the EU. But there is protection for consumers and greater awareness of these rights will inspire confidence in online shopping” stated Tina Leonard Manager ECC Dublin.
Irene Gahan, IIA CEO speaking at launch of ECC report said: “I am disappointed but not surprised at the results of this report. In general, however, Irish web sites didn`t fare too badly but there is room for vast improvement. I would call on all IIA members to strictly adhere to the legislation. I will be working with both the ECC and the Office of Consumer Affairs to educate and assist Irish e-tailers to ensure their sites are fully compliant. Full details of the report will be available for download from the IIA site”
See Resources Downloads to download the report.
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ESAT BT GOLDEN SPIDER AWARDS
Do you think your website could win a Golden Spider?
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Closing date: August 8th 2003
The Awards Ceremony
Gala Black Tie Dinner, October 2nd, 2003
For seats/table reservations contact the Event Manager
Ph: (01) 478 4322 or book online @ www.esatbtgoldenspiders.ie
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BSA WARN OF UNSCRUPULOUS INTERNET CAFES
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is warning users of Internet Cafes to be particularly vigilant of using computers which may have illegal software installed. The warning follows recent raids on two Internet Café chains in Dublin and Cork where software worth thousands of Euro’s was discovered to be in use illegally. As a result, judgement for EUR90,000 has been obtained against Colefield Developments Ltd, a Cork based company, and InterConnect Ltd, a Dublin based company with Internet Café’s under the “Call Connect” brand name, is being sued for the software licensing infringements.
The BSA, a not-for-profit organisation which represents software publishers, now believes illegal use of software to be particularly prevalent amongst Internet cafes since it has received a further two reports of illegal software use in Internet cafes in Kildare and Cork. The BSA suggests that consumers should seek assurances from the Internet Café owner or manager that all software installed on their computers is fully licensed before being forced to pay for the use of something that is illegal.
To combat the software piracy problem in this sector, the BSA has written specifically to Internet Café businesses across Ireland advising them to check that all software in use is compliant or risk prosecution. www.bsa.org
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NEW RECRUITMENT WEB SITE LAUNCHED
ICDS Recruitment Consultants has launched a new web site. The web site includes engineering, electronics, IT and pharmaceutical divisions as well as marketing and sales. www.icds.ie
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BUSINESS PEOPLE PREFER EMAIL OVER MAKING CALLS
According to an article in CyberAltas, 80% of business people prefer to use email rather than the phone. Flexibility of response, communicating with multiple parties and creating a paper trail were some of the reasons email won out for business communications. However, some professionals still prefer the phone, mainly because of too much email. Some business people are dealing with up to 200 emails a day. For more detail on this article see: http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/professional/article/0,,5971_2197331,00.html
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SIEMENS BUSINESS SERVICES TO UPGRADE GARDA TRACING SYSTEM
An Garda Siochana has commissioned Siemens Business Services to upgrade the Exhibit Tracking System used by the Garda Technical Bureau. The system, originally written by Siemens Business Services, tracks all crime scene exhibits needing examination by the Technical Bureau, as well as the movement of exhibits to the Forensics Science Laboratory. The upgrade was required to optimise the response time due to the increased volume of exhibits and to allow expansion of ‘user friendly’ functional capabilities of the system. www.sbs.ie/news/gardai.htm
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FUJITSU SERVICES TACKLES IT SECURITY AT THE IRISH AVIATION AUTHORITY
Fujitsu Services has been awarded a three-year contract to monitor IT security at the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). Fujitsu will be working with the IAA to ensure the recommendations of its recently developed IT security manual, which details the organisation`s strategy for creating a fully robust and secure IT environment, are fully implemented. Fujitsu`s involvement will include periodic security health checks on the IAA`s IT systems over the three year period as well as keeping the Authority up to date with the latest security developments and recommendations. http://ie.fujitsu.com
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT INTRANET AWARDS
The Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB), whose role is to advise on technology and implement common systems, commenced an intranet rollout project over 18 months ago. In order to promote these intranets the LGCSB held an awards competition. The judging panel consisted of representatives from LGCSB, Microsoft, Dept of Environment, Trinity College Dublin, Silicon Republic and eircom net. On April 10th Laois County Council picked up the award for ‘Best Innovation’. Leitrim County Council was awarded the prize for ‘Best Innovation’ and Donegal County Council scooped ‘Best Application’. The overall award went to Westmeath County Council. The main engine behind these intranets is Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Server. This is essentially a content management system that can replace all individual and localised versions of documents. The addition of graphic design, staff information and links to applications such as online planning systems, electoral registers etc and further enhances the site. www.lgcsb.ie
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INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING SPEND GROWS BY 19%
IAB Ireland has released the results of its quarterly survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Interactive Advertising Spend. The survey indicates a 19% growth in expenditure in Q4 2002 versus the same period in 2001, with the overall interactive market growing to EUR6.4 million for all of 2002. Although still accounting for just under 1% of overall advertising spend, the figures show the growth of Internet advertising versus all other media is gaining increased prominence amongst advertisers. Shenda Loughnane, a director of IAB Ireland commented that increases in online advertising spend will only continue through the development of a `common monitoring currency` which would give those spending on advertising easy access to relevant data, allowing them to effectively integrate the Interactive media into campaigns. IAB Ireland was set up in 2001 to promote and direct the growth of the Interactive advertising Industry in Ireland. Email: iabsurvey@us.pwcglobal.com