A new study by the Office of Fair Trading has revealed that a third of internet users are still afraid to use their credit cards to purchase goods and services online, for fear that their details could be obtained by fraudsters.

One in three UK consumers refuse to shop online because they believe their credit card details could be delivered into the wrong hands, the survey found. The OFT report follows similar surveys showing that shoppers are still wary about using their credit cards online.

Moreover, of those consumers who did shop online, three quarters said they still had misgivings about entering their card details.

In spite of the gloomy findings, the OFT survey shows that consumer confidence in general is on the up, and that consumers are more aware of their rights. Almost three quarters knew that they were not liable if their credit card was used fraudulently, compared with just two-thirds a year ago.

However, online retailers are still suffering from the lack of consumer confidence, according to OFT chief executive John Fingleton.

“Online retailing is the future for many businesses and increasingly important to the economy,” he said. “If consumers are not confident online, demand will grow at a slower rate. So, we must tackle these concerns right now if the online market is to grow at its full potential.”

This entry was posted on Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Credit Cards, Credit Ratings and Reports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.