Advertised at wrong price

[sigma]

If a company advertises two products but gets the prices the wrong way round do they have to honour the advert and sell the larger item at the wrongly advertised lower price.

[jackthehat]

No.

[EGTB]

No -should be covered by E &OE -Errors and omissions excepted.

[boxtops]

No - any shopkeeper (or business) is only advertising an offer price - they don't have to sell it to at the price shown. Daft, but true.

[markleech1]

No under the law of contract a price ticket on an item is "an invitation to treat" or in other words an indication of the selling price and should be used to guide you as a potential purchaser to make an offer to the seller - but it is for the seller to accept or decline your offer.

[Andyvon]

I had this with Halfords once. I noticed the price on one of the 5 litre cans of Waxoyl was £% less than the others. I insisted they sell for the lower price and the manager was called etc. I made a fuss and stuck to my guns thinking they had to sell it at that lower price which they eventaully did.

"Ha!" I thought "I know the law and my consumer rights". It was only afterwards I found out they didn't have to sell it for that price at all! Didn't I feel guilty!

No Sigma, they can sell it at any price they like, despite what's marked on the goods. In fact, they don't have to sell it to you at all! They could take the product out of your hand and say they won't sell it to you because they don't like the look of you or your hairstyle! Not good customer relations of course, but not illegal.

[Andyvon]

That should be £5 above!

[Midnightrider]

This is one of those 'Always read the small print' type questions. Somewhere along the bottom usually in letter's so tiny Superman would need glasses to read it, it says they reserve the right to cancel offers, change the size/price/make, sell your granny and close the shop, any loophole they an wriggle through they will. Sometimes you might be lucky and as a gesture of 'good will' you may get your bargain. I've often found with this, you go back an hour later and shelves will be cleared and they are 'out of stock'!

[ABerrant]

It is correct that the retailer does not have to sell at the lower (incorrect) price but they have a legal obligation to correct the pricing error as soon as possible.

"...they can sell it at any price they like, despite what's marked on the goods."

Not true. It is a strict liability offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) for a retailer to mislead a consumer, so if they were to charge (or even attempt to charge) a higher price at the till "despite what's marked on the goods" the retailer would be in contravention of the CPRs.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Local Authority Trading Standards Services (TSS) and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland (DETINI) have the legal duty to enforce the CPRs. This does not automatically mean that formal enforcement action will be taken in respect of each and every infringement. Instead, the duty obliges enforcers to take steps to promote compliance by the most appropriate means. In many instances businesses are encouraged to comply with the regulations through the provision of advice and guidance, however civil and criminal enforcement of the CPRs will be undertaken where necessary. The maximum penalty for misleading a consumer is a £5,000 fine and/or 2 years imprisonment.

http://www.oft.gov.uk...ts/cpregs/oft1008.pdf