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Price errors!

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wiggal | 20:24 Tue 14th Oct 2008 | Law
27 Answers
Hey all,

Quick question and hoping for a quick response!

If an interenet site advertises something at a price, and I then buy it and pay for it at that price, can they turn round and say it should of been a higher price and not send it to me or charge me more?

Hope that makes sense!

If the answer is that they have to sell at the price advertised, then I will let you on to a winner lol!

Ta!

Wiggal
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this happened a few months back , same question in computer mag, they said they do not have to sell it to you
Question Author
Even if I have paid te money online?

(I havent done, but thinking of taking up on what seems to be an error!)

:-)
in fact if i am correct it was the tesco website and it was some kind of paper item at 1p each , the person ordered 100 to buy the stock
he paid for the item and the next day they sent him another bill
Retail is the same anywhere.....no-one is obliged to sell at price marked and you are not obliged to purchase at change of price. Too many scenarios as to why price might change but not shown: error/rising costs/scarcity/new stock etc
Question Author
So its not worth the risk then?

It may be just an absolutely fantastic offer which I will miss out on, but I dont wan to go for it and then it be wrong and charged the full amount!
wiggal - not sure what the law would be.

But a similar thing happened here . . . . .

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/05/14/tesco_ honours_xfiles_web_pricing/
Perhaps print off the page, so if they challenge you later you can return it and refuse to pay the higher price.

You can then tell them you have proof of the original price displayed.
Question Author
Well this one is pretty much the same thing!

Play.com are advertising the full James Bond collection for �9.99, when RRP is �159.99?

And was hoping to nab some great christmas gifts for people! But not sure wether to try it now?
It's probably the correct price they intended to charge.

Who would pay anywhere near the RRP?
go for one , if they up the price you would not have to pay more they would have to refund you
Question Author
Well �9.99 just seems very wrong for 21 James Bond films as a collection?

Ahh well, I dont know of anyone who likes Bond that much, but will order one anyway and see how it goes! For that price, I will find someone who likes it!
cant you negotiate? like with money or something?
Wiggal....that's an offer which am sure will be met. The RRP (recommended retail price) is not a proveable statement for you, unless you have seen same somewhere at the RRP; (they should quote where goods are at RRP). Go for it....it's an offer of mass production.
Personally, I wouldn't buy J Bond for 10p.....hate J Bond!
They will still be making a profit.

How much does it cost to burn a few discs of old films?
Nobody is ever obliged to sell you anything at the advertised price. For example, you could see something in a shop window with a '�20' price tag. When you ask to buy it, the shopkeeper can say "Sorry mate, it's now twenty million pounds". That's perfectly lawful. While you're ranting and raving at him, he can sell the item to the next customer for 1p. That's also perfectly lawful. (The only exception would be if he'd unlawfully discriminated against you because, say, of your race).

Exactly the same is true of items advertised on the internet. If the seller wants to change his mind about the low price he advertised (either because it was an error or simply because he decides he doesn't want to sell at that price any longer) he can refuse to sell you the item or demand a higher price for doing so.

However, if the vendor spots an error in his pricing after the completion of a sale, he'd have great difficulty in trying to get any more money from you (or getting you to return the item for a refund). The law basically states that a contract for sale is completed as soon as you've received the goods and the vendor has received payment. The contract for sale can't be varied because it no longer exists. Some traders (who've made massive errors in their pricing) have tried to use the provisions of the Theft Act 1968 to 'undo' the contract. That Act makes it illegal to benefit from someone else's error when, for example, a bank pays someone else's money into your account. However, the Act only makes it illegal to hang on to something (such as the balance of the payment which the vendor is claiming) when there's a duty upon you to return it. Contract law imposes no such duty upon a purchaser who's in receipt of a bargain and, to the best of my knowledge, all such court actions by vendors have met with failure.

Chris
It's a simple contract.

They display the price.

You offer to but at that price, and tender the money.

If they accept your money, the deal is done.

If they reject your payment, there is no contract.

If they come back and ask you to pay the "full" amount, they are introducing a new term to the negotiations.

You are free to decline the "new" terms and ask for your money to be returned.

Thank you. You've been a wonderful audience. Goodnight.
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terambulan, I dont like it either, but I figure with christmas coming up and my brothers birthday who I think is a Bond fan, then its gotta be worth it.
Have just ordered 2 lol!
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