The European Consumer Centre is advising Irish online shoppers to only purchase Christmas goods from within the EU. It says since the UK left the European Union, it is now classed as a third country. This means that EU citizens do not have the same legal rights when seeking redress for faulty or wrong items bought on the internet.

Dr Cyril Sullivan from the ECC says shoppers should buy from within the EU to avoid disappointment as legal redress is difficult to process when purchasing goods from outside the EU: