MS ELAINE Ong Mei Lin ('Calling brunobear'; ST, Aug 16) recounted her experience of making an online purchase and having the payment deducted from her account, without receiving the goods and not being able to contact the company via phone, e-mail and fax.

Ms Ong could consider making a trip to the office address stated on the company's website. If she is still unable to resolve the issue, she and other consumers who face similar situations could take the following steps:

Go to the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) website, www.acra.gov.sg , to check if the company is a business registered in Singapore.

If the company is a registered business and its status is 'live', the consumer could purchase a copy of the company's business profile from Acra and file a claim against the company with the Small Claims Tribunal.

If the company is a non-registered business, consumers should notify the relevant authorities, such as Acra, so that appropriate action could be taken.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) advises consumers to exercise prudence when making online transactions.

To protect themselves, consumers are advised to deal with only registered businesses. They can ascertain if a business is registered by searching the online business directory on the Acra website.

In addition, consumers should ensure that the transactions are made on a secured site. They can look out for the TrustSG logo or CaseTrust webfront logo for additional assurance.

The public can call the Case hotline 6463-1811 to seek advice on consumer issues.

Seah Seng Choon
Executive Director
Consumers Association of Singapore