Online shoppers put off by hidden charges
Ninety-three per cent of Brits say that they are annoyed by certain shopping websites hiding extra charges from them until the final point of purchase.Philfing, short for 'purposely hiding what I'm looking for', is the new moniker used to describe webmasters hiding extra charges for delivery, insurance and credit card use, for example.A survey by MoreComputers website found that hidden delivery charges were the most annoying philfing phenomenon, with 64 per cent of online shoppers saying that put them off purchasing.The sort of practices that most ticked consumers off were shopping sites that advertised free delivery only to turn out that there was a minimum spend required or a specific item had to be purchased to qualify.People were also annoyed by poor stock information and hidden two per cent charges added on for credit card use.The lack of transparency for online companies was also a cause of annoyance, with shoppers annoyed by either the lack of a contact telephone number or an 0870 number listing.Brian Trevaskiss, operations manager at MoreComputers.com, said: ''Shopping online is without doubt quick and convenient. However this growing trend of Philfing is so annoying for consumers that they abandon their baskets at 'Philfers' sites and shop elsewhere.''
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