Wrong price

[akane1984]

Hi quick question if a site shows wrong price for an item. and you add it to your basket and purchase it? what is laws etc about it, can the site/company refuse to sell you the item etc. .

[Stuart]

As far as I know, they can.

[TheDaddy]

If it's a U.K. site I think it may be covered by the sale of goods act and therefore unless they have taken the money you offered, they can refuse the sale

[brundles]

I'm pretty sure you'll find something in the small print of any e-store website with something along the lines of they can't be held to the prices it shows and the website may have errors and omissions. I think they'd struggle to force someone to still buy an item at the higher price, but equally they can't be forced to sell you the item at the low price.

A price on an item is called 'an Invertation to treat' it's not a price to buy, they can refuse to sell it to you at the price shown... it's not fair bit it is correct..

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by gaffer_gump

A price on an item is called 'an Invertation to treat' it's not a price to buy, they can refuse to sell it to you at the price shown... it's not fair bit it is correct..

When I was a student, I worked part time for Blockbuster. We were intructed to refuse to sell or rent goods if the price that came up on the computer was different to the price on the item.

[akane1984]

well they do have t&c saying they can refuse didnt see that before. ah well lets hope it slips under there web lol

[Russ]

When I worked in Tandy's we were told that the law states we can either sell the goods at the price advertised or take it off show for 24 hours and return it with the correct amount.

[Saaf_laandon_mo]

From my memory of A level contract law, when you take goods to a counter you are offering to buy those goods at the advertised price. The seller does not have to accept your offer. Therefore I would say this would mean that if a price is incorrect then the supermarket does not have to sell it. This precedant was set in a case involving the sale of knives to an under age youth.
The sale of goods act might have been updated since, but when supermarkets sell stuff at incorrectly advertised prices, i am sure they do so as an act of goodwill, as opposed to them being legally obliged to sell at the incorrect lower price.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Saaf_laandon_mo

From my memory of A level contract law, when you take goods to a counter you are offering to buy those goods at the advertised price. The seller does not have to accept your offer. Therefore I would say this would mean that if a price is incorrect then the supermarket does not have to sell it. This precedant was set in a case involving the sale of knives to an under age youth.
The sale of goods act might have been updated since, but when supermarkets sell stuff at incorrectly advertised prices, i am sure they do so as an act of goodwill, as opposed to them being legally obliged to sell at the incorrect lower price.

Thats right it was a flick knife

[Gareth]

Originally Posted by Saaf_laandon_mo

From my memory of A level contract law, when you take goods to a counter you are offering to buy those goods at the advertised price. The seller does not have to accept your offer. Therefore I would say this would mean that if a price is incorrect then the supermarket does not have to sell it. This precedant was set in a case involving the sale of knives to an under age youth.
The sale of goods act might have been updated since, but when supermarkets sell stuff at incorrectly advertised prices, i am sure they do so as an act of goodwill, as opposed to them being legally obliged to sell at the incorrect lower price.

Yep, see Fisher vs Bell, where just because the flicknife was on display in the shop window didn't mean it was actually for sale - as that would have been illegal. It was merely an invitation to treat, and the shop owner would have naturally refused to carry out such a transaction.

Now, it gets slightly more interesting (but only slightly... don't get your hopes up) if you purchase an item at an obviously incorrect price and the website accepts your order and gives you a transaction number. In this case, you can argue that the contract was formed, and that they're now in breach of that contract.*

Lastly, the Consumer Protection Act of '87 is also interesting (well, maybe not that interesting) as it makes it an offence for shopkeepers to knowingly give consumers a misleading price indication for an item. There's a £5K fine (I believe... but don't quote me on that) for each time a consumer was misled, and just saying "it was a mistake" doesn't necessarily absolve them from liability



*The get-out-of-jail-free card that is often used in these cases is that their T&C's often include something along the lines of "subject to availability", which when they realise their mistake, they suddenly take advantage of, and you discover that their stock levels were depleted before they could process your order.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Gareth

Yep, see Fisher vs Bell, where just because the flicknife was on display in the shop window didn't mean it was actually for sale - as that would have been illegal. It was merely an invitation to treat, and the shop owner would have naturally refused to carry out such a transaction.

Reminds of a time I was walking along the road with an incredibly posh girl who used to work at the Uni (Dad owns half of a small town somewhere). We were walking along, and she suddenly stopped and said "Look, a four foot dildo". I was slightly surprised, and yes, there was the aforemetnioned item sitting in the window of the hardware store we were passing. I never found out if he was actually selling it.

[greencreeper]

I would say that having completed the transaction, the contract is formed, but there'll be a way for the retailer to get out of it - always is

[Marge]

Originally Posted by akane1984

well they do have t&c saying they can refuse didnt see that before. ah well lets hope it slips under there web lol

So whats the item etc etc and where is it for sale ???

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Marge

So whats the item etc etc and where is it for sale ???

Now there's a question that should have been asked sooner