Buying gadgets online can be a troublesome pursuit, according to a new survey.

Sample queries submitted to the biggest online electrical retailers revealed just three in 10 got any reply. Those who got a reply only got a relevant response three quarters of the time.

Amazon, Dabs, Comet, Argos, John Lewis, Carphone Warehouse, The Link, PC World, Phones4U, Littlewoods and Dixons were asked basic questions such as "how long will delivery take?" and "how do I return goods?" in the research, conducted by online retailing services provider Transversal.

Fashion, grocery, CD and book floggers didn't fair much better, responding on average to only half of customer queries.

Transversal VEO Davin Yap said: "Despite the growth of online sales, retailers are still not providing good customer service on the web, and they simply wouldn't get away with it on the high street. Retailers will drive shoppers into the arms of their competition through their failings."

We contacted online retailers asking why they don't respond to queries, but they didn't respond to our queries. ®

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