During the period dedicated to Black Friday promotional offers, users may face delayed deliveries of products purchased online or fraudulent package delivery attempts. ANCOM recommends users to pay close attention to the delivery options and conditions, as well as to the authenticity of information throughout the entire online purchase process.

Recommendations on the delivery of products purchased online during Black Friday

The increased volume of purchases of various products during Black Friday has a significant impact on the courier activity in Romania. During this period, given the large number of orders, it is possible to encounter delays in the delivery of parcels, their damage or loss during transport.

When ordering online, users should pay close attention to the offers proposed by traders and check the following aspects:

• delivery options offered by the online store: users may consider requesting additional security services, such as the check-on-delivery service or the service for registered items;
• methods of delivery (to the address, to a provider’s work point or to an automatic delivery system - locker, easybox, package, parcel box or parcel shipping boxes);
• methods of payment for the goods, upon delivery (cash or POS);
• delivery time, which may be longer than at other times of the year;
• if delivery to the door of bulky products (furniture, household appliances, etc.) is offered. The delivery of goods weighing more than 31.5 kg is not a postal service, but a freight transport service;
• if the packaging of the delivered parcel shows traces of damage, in which case it may be requested to draw up a document specifying the condition of the packaging or the parcel may be refused;
• the identity of the sender, in particular where the value of the goods is paid to the postal service provider (goods dispatched by cash on delivery).

Beware of fraud attempts!

In the context where the online environment is increasingly exposed to fraud, for determining how safe the online purchase of products is, ANCOM and the National Directorate for Cyber Security  recommend buyers to access scamadviser.com to verify that the online store is real and that the products sold are authentic.

ANCOM warns users not to respond to messages (SMS, e-mail) apparently sent by a postal service provider requesting to access a link and fill in personal information (e.g. bank card number) for the delivery of a parcel. If the user has been the victim of a scam or has followed up on such a message, it is necessary to inform the postal service provider and contact the police for the start of investigations.

In addition, in the case of goods sent through the cash on delivery service, ANCOM recommends that before paying the requested amount of money, the recipients who receive the package should make sure that they or another family member have made such an order online. 

Complaint-related information

When encountering problems related to the delivery of products ordered online, it is necessary and efficient for users to address, first of all, the online store. More details about the delivery of online orders are available here.

In the absence of an amicable solution by the online store, consumers can contact:

• The National Authority for Consumer Protection  – if the trader is located on the territory of Romania;

• the local representative of the European Consumer Centre  - in the case of a trader from another Member State of the European Union.

In the case of a trader from a country that is not a member of the European Union, complaints are dealt with in accordance with the information on that trader's website.

For any subsequent complaint, it is important that users keep all the documents that can prove the purchase (invoice, receipt, delivery form, etc.).

ANCOM cannot require the postal service provider involved in the delivery to resume the delivery of the returned parcel, without shipping costs, or to offer any compensation as a result of the way it managed its shipment. However, ANCOM may analyze and, as the case may be, sanction the conduct of the provider involved in the delivery of the good from the perspective of the legislation in the field of postal services. Such violations can be reported to the Authority here.