"Trust is essential for ecommerce. At EFSA we offer e-merchants the opportunity to be verified by lawyers against the relevant South African laws and regulations and our own code of good conduct
Once verified, the e-shop can carry the Safe.Shop South Africa trustmark, renewed annually, as a guarantee that it is a trustworthy online business""
- Alastair Tempest, CEO Ecommerce Forum Africa
Trustmarks have an excellent record of encouraging greater trust in ecommerce wherever they are set up. In the Effective Measure Ecommerce research study for SA of 2016, the question was asked, would you buy more if there was a Trustmark system?
Despite the absence of any Trustmark in SA, 18% of respondents to the survey said that they would have greater trust in ecommerce with a Trustmark and would buy more online.
There is an annual verification system which invites e-shops to confirm that they are in line with the Code and with relevant laws (CPA, ECTA, POPIA), that they have a system for return of goods (if relevant) and that the data they collect on customers is secure. If all is in order, the e-shop pays a fee (R5,225 a year), and commits to an alternative dispute system in the case of an unresolved complaint. It’s important to stress that the best solution to any complaint, of course, is between the seller and buyer. The Trustmark is not intended to substitute for buyer/seller customer relations or complaint resolution.
The trustmark was originally set up by the Ecommerce Foundation in Amsterdam to encourage greater trust in cross-border ecommerce in Europe. National trustmarks exist in nearly all European countries (in some countries, like Germany, there are multiple trustmarks), but there was no cross border trustmark. The system was designed to be easy to operate, not complex, and modestly priced. It soon attracted interest from outside Europe and is in operation, or in preparation in a number of non-European countries, including Indonesia, Hong Kong, Brazil and Malayasia. EFSA is affiliated to the Ecommerce Foundation.
Safe.Shop South Africa ensures that the e-shop applies a Code of Practice and the SA ecommerce related laws (Consumer Protection, Electronic Transactions, Protection of Personal Information Acts). Legalese, a Law Firm working for the Ecommerce Forum South Africa, verified that the e-shop applies the Code and relevant laws using a check list.
We (the Merchant) allow you (the Consumer) to return products within 14 days after delivery without having to give a reason. Only a few kinds of products can be exempted from return**. If we chose to exempt these products, we will clearly state so before the transaction is concluded. We will reimburse all payments received by you (including shipping costs) within 14 days after the goods have been received back or you have supplied us with evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is earliest. The shipping costs of returning the goods are for the customer. Likewise, if you return part of the order, we do not have to refund the shipping cost of sending you the product. If technically possible, we will return the payments via the same payment method through which we have received payment.
** The following types of products/services can be excluded from this right of withdrawal: