Quizzes & Puzzles11 mins ago
Price errors!
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
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
Answers
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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/
But a similar thing happened here . . . . .
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/05/14/tesco_ honours_xfiles_web_pricing/
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
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.
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.
-- answer removed --
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