offers of free gifts.

[redcrx]

i received an email a few weeks ago offering a free gift if i spent �15 with a mail order company. (The email states thats offer can be withdrawn at any time)

i placed an order within an hour and waitied for my items ordered and my free gift. 3 days later i received my order but accoutn stated that free gift was out of stock and to be delivered on 15th june. On friday i received another parcel containing something i hadnt ordered but said free of charge.

I have enquired as to the whereabouts of my free gift today and been told that i was sent an alternative (thats what i received Friday)

Now, the free gift originally offered was a childs toy, priced at �95. the item i received Friday was a digital camera / webcam worth practically nothing and they say this is the alternative as stock of toy had ran out.

I know of people who were still ordering a week after me and their accounts were showing theyd ordered the toy as free gift. Is this right?

(i am awaiting a call back from the company at the moment)

if the company had withdrawn the offer, then should they not have advised people? I would not have purchased from them if not for the offer.

[Rollo]

I do not know about the legality of this, but if somebody offered me something worth �95 for nothing if I spent �15 with them then I would run a mile.

[redcrx]

its a very large, well known company.

plus thats just RRP, i could purchase same free gift from ebay at �50.

[SpodoCommodo]

With free gifts, isn't there usually a clause buried away in the small print that the company reserves the right to change it for an alternative if they so choose?

[redcrx]

well thats the thing. They say that it states that in offer, but it doesnt. and i cant find it in any of their t&cs.

Id be ok if theyd withdrawn the offer, but actually advised me so that i had chance to withdraw my order. But at no point have i been advised that they were changing the offer. and they were still offering the free gift after they had apparently run out, that cant be right at all!

[Rollo]

So it is only worth �50, not �95.

Large well known company, or not, operating your business on that basis is a recipe for bankruptcy if you gave it to all of your customers. Hence the restriction.

[redcrx]

yes rollo, i can totally understand why they might restrict it, but what im asking is can they just change it after advising me that Id get it on 15th June? and not having withdrawn the promotion even once it was know to them that they couldnt offer it?

[redcrx]

and the toy is �95 from their store.

[Rollo]

Difficult to comment on that without seeing the offer and the terms.

[redcrx]

small print on the offer
"*This free gift may only be claimed once when you spend �15 or more on your order. We reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time. Offer ends 30th June 2009. Returned goods, financial services products and delivery charges will not count towards the value of the order and this offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount or promotional offer. Promotional codes are codes that enable customers to obtain benefits such as discounts, free delivery and free gifts. These codes are non-transferable so may only be used by the person to whom they are issued and must only be used in accordance with their terms and conditions of use. If you use a promotional code to claim a promotional benefit, you must first check that it was issued to you and that you are eligible to use it. By using it to claim a promotional benefit you will be confirming that:-

(i) you are entitled to use the code;
(ii) you meet all the conditions that apply to its use;
(iii) you agree to the terms set out below.

[redcrx]

If, before accepting your order, we find that you are not entitled to use the code or do not meet all the terms and conditions of its use, we may reject your order or alternatively process it without the promotional benefit being applied. If, after accepting your order, we find that you were not entitled to use the code or did not meet all the terms and conditions of its use, we may reverse the benefit that you obtained. If you transacted on a cash basis e.g. by debit or credit card, we may take a further payment, equivalent to the value of the benefit obtained, from the card used. If you transacted on a credit basis, the value of the benefit obtained may be charged to your credit account"

[redcrx]

and apart from whats above and the usual T&Cs about credit etc, this is all i can find on their site

"3.2 Whilst it is our intention to keep our website up to date and error free, product description or pricing errors may occur. If we discover such an error after you have submitted an order to us, we will contact you prior to accepting your order with the correct details. You may then either cancel your order or re-confirm it based on the correct information. If we are unable to contact you, we will treat your order as cancelled."

[redcrx]

oh, and i have checked and the offer is no longer available, it has now been withdrawn and the code doesnt work (so it was pulled before the 30th june date on email)

[cassa333]

The stock toy ran out because not all the toys are for the promotion. IE: 20 for the promotion and 200 to sell. I am supprised it doesn't say 'while stocks last' which is standard practice as there will always be someone who doesn't get it.

[redcrx]

i dont know of anyone that got it as yet.

but even after stock had gone, the codes were being accepted and the offer was being acknowledged to people on their accounts.

[brenda]

No such thing asa free lunch I'm afraid . You've been had,

[lawsanass]

I can see exactly what you are trying to say...if I were you I would contact trading standards office. I cant be fair that a promotional offer is still being offered after stocks have run out.... good luck.

[redcrx]

thanks, I am waiting for the call back from the Directors Office before i go to trading standards (or consumer direct as they are now called)
I have found many people online who have had mixed results, some got the toy, some got the other gift, some got neither and some even had both!
A few have had the other gift and their paperwork is still stating the toy will follow.