Cross-border shopping

Tax
Plastic money - UK only
Timeshare
Cars

The Single Market should make it easy to shop in any EU country, and be able to sort out any problems wherever you buy, just as easily abroad as at home. The EU is setting up complaint systems (click here for more information).

Here is a checklist to help you avoid some of the pitfalls of cross-border shopping in the European Union.

Will it work?

Standards and systems vary across the EU. Only buy electrical equipment if you are sure it will work at home - this particularly goes for televisions, computers, software, video recorders and video tapes. Get the seller to confirm this compatibility in writing when you buy, if possible.

Is it a good deal?

Take into account the cost of changing currency or sending a payment abroad when deciding. If you are thinking about a long-term purchase abroad - such as a loan or insurance - bear in mind that payments may fluctuate if your county is outside the euro.

Is there a guarantee?

Check that the guarantee is valid at home, and that you will not have to take the product all the way back to the country of purchase if there is a problem.

Tax

Check that the product you are buying will not be liable for extra VAT or other tax when you bring it back. For most purchases this is not a problem, but special rules apply in some cases, including for new and nearly new cars, motorbikes and boats.

Plastic money - UK only

If you are buying goods between £100 and £30,000 for a product or service, use a credit card if you can. Under UK law, you can claim against the credit card company or the supplier if you have brought something which is faulty: not all UK credit card companies will accept the same responsibility for purchases elsewhere in the EU.

Following a recent court ruling, (12 November 2004), which may be the subject of an appeal, you shouldn't assume that you have the same protection for purchases made outside the UK, unless the credit card issuer makes clear in writing that you are covered.

Timeshare

Under EU law, timeshare purchasers have ten days after signing a contract in which to change their minds. But check first that the country in which you are buying has implemented this, and make sure that a ten day cooling-off period is provided in the contract. Don't fall for the buy-sell con, where some operators promise to buy your existing timeshare and sell it for you, so that you can buy one of theirs - too many people have finished up with two unwanted timeshares.

Cars

Advice on buying and importing a car is contained in an action pack 'Importing a Car' published by the UK Consumers' Association (telephone 0800 252 100).