Consumers worldwide should use "extreme caution" when using
health, finance and price comparison web sites, according to
research published yesterday by Consumers International and
Consumer WebWatch. The bodies claim that the information provided
by such sites is often inaccurate and can be misleading.
According to Consumers International, a federation of over 250
consumer organisations in 115 countries, more than 460 web sites
were investigated between April and July 2002. It was found that
49% of health and financial sites failed to give appropriate
warnings, such as advising consumers to consult a professional
before acting on advice given.
Moreover, at least half of sites giving advice on medical and
financial matters did not give full information about the authority
and credibility of the people behind that advice. The survey
further claims that 62% of sites contained vague and unspecific
information, whilst 39% of sites collecting personal information
did not have a privacy policy.
Finally, 60% of the web sites provided no indication of whether
their content was influenced by commercial interests such as
partners, sponsors or advertisers.
Guidelines for improving web site credibility are available
from:
www.consumerwebwatch.org.
