Incorrect price marking of goods for sale

[bradmoor]

Myson purchesed an item from a local shop which had the usual stamp-sized sticker on it showing a price of £18.50. On examining the receipt on the way home he realised that he had been charged £22.50. He rang the shop and was informed that there had been other complaints, which the result of an inexperienced shop assistant mispricing some items. i.e they knew there was a problem with pricing of some items but had done nothing to remedy the error. What is the legal position in such cases? Can my son insist on the marked price being honoured?

[bednobs]

no, he can take it back and get a refund though

[boxtops]

No he can't. It's a crazy situation but shopkeepers don't have to sell at the advertised price (although most do). I can't remember the precedent but I know this has been asked before - but on a moral principal it would have been good if the seller had pointed it out to your son before he rang it through the till, in case it made a difference to whether he bought it or not. IMO.

[emeraldblue]

Is it a big company?. If so contact their Head Office.They will usually refund the difference. If its a small company take your trade elsewhere in future.

[fairycakes69]

HI as far as I am aware the shop has 24 hours to sort the mistake, if it has been reported to trading standards they will then come in and check that this has been done. I would get your son to go back to the shop and get a refund and buy it at the proper price or the shop should as a gesture of good will refund the difference, but they are under no obligation to do so.

[Budlet]

If you look a little further up in the postings, I had a similar thing with a coat bought for my son. It said £80 on the ticket but I was charged £90. I took the receipt back to the shop and she refunded the difference. The manager told me they have to - by law - honour the price on the ticket. Hope this helps.

[Davethedog]

The Shop Has to Sell at the Displayed Price
This is another common consumer misconception. If you see an item priced at what you think is an absolute bargain – beware. If a shop misprices an item, and for example misses a zero from the displayed price, you might think that you can walk up to the till and insist that you’re allowed to take the goods away at the displayed price. This is actually wrong. It comes down to basic contract law, and a price label on goods is what’s called, 'an invitation to treat' – that is, an invitation for you as a consumer to make the seller an offer to buy those goods.

You make the offer of the price stated on the goods – at this point if the seller realises that there has been an error, they can refuse to sell you the goods and tell you that they will sell them to you at the correct price. You cannot insist that they sell the item to you for the stated price – in fact you can’t actually insist that they sell the goods to you at all.

There may be an exception to this rule but it’s covered by criminal legislation - The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations. This means that although you can’t insist on a shop selling you something at an advertised price, if they have specifically advertised an item at one price but charge another price for it, and if they continue to do so after you have pointed out their error, they are committing an offence. If you suspect that a shop is deliberately trying to mislead customers, you should notify your local Trading Standards team.

http://www.consumerri...r-misconceptions.html