Dabs.com gets wrists slapped by OFT

E-tailer's terms and conditions are judged to be unfair by the Office of Fair Trading

E-tailer Dabs.com has had its knuckles rapped by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after the watchdog judged its terms and conditions for returns and refunds to be unfair.

The BT-owned PC and consumer electronics reseller has agreed to introduce terms that comply with the latest consumer regulations.

Dabs’s failure to accept full liability for faulty goods by making the consumer pay the cost of returning items was among the terms deemed ‘unsuitable’.

The regulator was also concerned about terms that excluded its liability for errors in description of goods and imposed time limits on consumers to notify it of defects.

“The OFT welcomes the changes made by Dabs,” the watchdog said in a statement. “Consumers now have fairer and clear terms and conditions.”

Simon Curry, chief executive at Dabs, stated: “We were happy to engage with the OFT and have worked openly and cooperatively with them for 18 months, taking onboard their comments in the best interests of our customers.”

Curry added that Dabs had implemented a number of other customer policy improvements over and above those highlighted by the OFT since it was bought by BT last April (CRN, 2 May 2006).

An industry source, who wished to remain anonymous, told CRN: “It will be interesting to see if Dabs’s competitors follow suit by changing their trading terms.”

The OFT’s statement comes just two weeks after the OFT issued a report slamming e-tailers’ low awareness of internet shoppers’ rights (CRN, 21 June).