Everyday life online
Buy online safely
What you will be able to do In 8 minutes, you'll know how to carry an order from cart to confirmation, and what the law guarantees you afterward.
This time, the shop is legitimate: we're not looking for a trap, we're carrying a purchase all the way through, properly. An online purchase always follows the same path: the cart, the delivery address, the payment, then the order confirmation. At each step, one piece of information deserves a second look before you confirm, because afterward it will be harder to correct. And once the order is placed, French law gives you specific rights, including the right to change your mind without justifying yourself. We're going to go through this together, on a screen we designed. Nothing here is real: no order is sent, no money moves.
Simulated screen
I practice
This screen was drawn by us. Nothing is sent, nothing is installed, and no real brand is shown.
The situationYou've found the right teapot on a legitimate shop, and all that's left is to confirm the order.
The interactive exercise needs JavaScript. The written step by step, just below, says exactly the same thing.
The written step by step
The same steps, in words, to read or print. This sheet works even without the exercise.
The only figure that matters
Your turn Before confirming, touch the amount that will actually be charged to your account.
We read the total to pay, 56.80 EUR, which includes the teapot at 49.90 EUR and delivery at 6.90 EUR. That's the amount, and only that one, that will leave the account.
The address filled in for you
Your turn One field has been filled in based on an old order. Touch the one you absolutely need to check.
We touch the Delivery address field, still filled in with the old home, and correct it before anything else.
Paying without cutting off your options
Your turn Touch the way to pay that leaves you a recourse if nothing arrives.
We choose payment by bank card: it's the only one here that lets you dispute a charge with your bank.
The confirmation that will serve you
Your turn The confirmation message has just arrived. Touch what you do with it.
We keep the confirmation message, with its order number and the amount paid, in a folder or printed out.
Changing your mind is a right
Your turn The item matches its description, but you don't like it. Touch what French law gives you.
We touch the first answer: at least 14 days, without having to justify it, counted from the day after receiving the parcel.
The purchase that can't be returned
Your turn Among these four purchases received, touch the only one that cannot be returned for a change of mind.
The shelf cut to your measurements is the only one of these four purchases excluded from the right to change your mind, because it was made just for you.
The sheet to keep
- The only figure that matters is the total to pay, delivery included. The seller must display it before you confirm.
- The seller must announce a delivery date or timeframe. Failing that, delivery must happen at the latest 30 days after the order.
- An address pre-filled by the site should be checked at every order: nobody will correct it for you.
- A bank card leaves a recourse: a charge you didn't authorize can be disputed with your bank, within 13 months.
- Bank transfers, checks and gift card codes leave no recourse once sent.
- Keep the order confirmation. The seller must provide it to you on a durable format, at the latest by the time of delivery.
- In France, you have at least 14 days to change your mind, without justifying it, counted from the day after receipt; then 14 days to return the item, and the seller reimburses you at the latest 14 days after being notified.
- This right has exceptions: a custom-made good, a perishable item, digital content already downloaded.
The reflexes in this skill
I stop before I click
Urgency is the sign of a trap. A message that counts down the hours is trying to stop you from thinking. Putting your phone down for two minutes costs nothing, and it is almost always enough.
I make a copy of what matters
Photos, documents, contacts: anything that exists in only one place can disappear along with the device. A copy somewhere else turns a breakdown into a minor inconvenience.
No one serious ever rushes me
No threats, no countdown, no secret to keep. And asking for help is a reflex, not a failure: saying it out loud to someone makes most scams fall apart.
Two questions to check
Nothing is graded, and nothing is saved anywhere except in your own browser.
Before confirming an online order, which amount should you check?
See the answer
The total to pay, delivery fees included
Delivery fees are often added at the last step. The total to pay, delivery included, must be shown before you confirm: it's this amount, and only this one, that will be charged to your account.
You've received an item ordered online and you don't like it. What does French law say?
See the answer
You have at least 14 days to change your mind, without having to justify it
The legal minimum period is 14 days, counted from the day after receipt, and the seller can offer more. A few purchases are excluded, such as a custom-made good or a perishable item.
I've done it
Check this box once you can do this skill on your own.
Your progress stays in your own browser.