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AIBU?

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Original poster

I am stingy, I can see that, but am I being unreasonable?

97 replies

withgreatpower · 17/11/2013 21:13

I phoned a well-known pizza delivery company (don't want to say who, because I never had problems with them before today), and said that I wanted to use their voucher (that they had delivered with the previously ordered pizza) for £ 5.99 for any size pizza, collection only (the voucher specified that this was good only for the classi bases, not the fancy ones, which was ok with me).

I get told by the "pizza guy" on the phone that that voucher is now £6.99. I point out that the voucher is valid until December 2013. More discussion... Then I get to talk to the manager, who explains that the pizza company headquarters had printed wrong vouchers, and the local franchise is now charging £6.99 instead of £5.99. He says it's still a good deal - and I agree with him, but I point out that the voucher says £ 5.99, and that I don't think that what he's doing is legal.

The manager says that if I read the small print (not on the voucher, but on the rest of the menu) it says that they can change offers any time.

I then ask the manager if, when I collect my pizza and I pay for it £ 6.99, he can write on a piece of paper that I tried to use the £5.99 voucher but he didn't honour it, and to put his details on it. I said that I would then check with the company headquarters if that was normal practice. The manager (still very polite, I have to say), then says he can't write a letter like that, but he decides to let me have my pizza for £5.99, but just for this time - I am not allowed to use any other £5.99 voucher that I might still had.

So, I spent 10 minutes on the phone for £ 1!!! Yes, I am very stingy, but was I unreasonable?

PS: When I collected the pizza, I realised that they might have spat in it... I ate the pizza anyway - it was tasty!

OP posts:
nickelbabe · 17/11/2013 22:05

yes, it means exactly that.
if you don't like the correct price, you can say "no thanks" or you can argue and they can say "sorry we can't do that price, we will withdraw the item from sale" and thennthey can correct the price and start again.

most companies will honour the error for good customer service, but they certainly don't have to

mercibucket · 17/11/2013 22:16

is it a franchise? probably a head office deal they have to pay for

intitgrand · 17/11/2013 22:19

A price or an offer isn't actually an offer in legal terms.It is an invitation to treat 'ie do buiness'.The customer offers to buy a product at x price which the shop can then either accept or refuse.

contortionist · 17/11/2013 22:35

I think this is unfair trading, as is the bookshop example. But I am not a lawyer, so don't take my opinion seriously.
See the www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/schedule/1/made item 5.

ChippingInLovesAutumn · 17/11/2013 22:42

I wonder if they are doing it at £6.99 and keeping the quid themselves and just putting the voucher in the till?

RaspberryLemonPavlova · 17/11/2013 22:50

I don't know about the voucher, but when I worked in retail in the shop scenario they must either sell it to you at the lower price or withdraw it from sale until the following day.

It is a few years since I worked in retail but I'm pretty sure this hasn't changed

PresidentServalan · 17/11/2013 23:38

It's a pound - get over it.

PresidentServalan · 17/11/2013 23:40

Intit YY re invitation to treat.

OP - you could have a case for Watchdog here Hmm

custardo · 17/11/2013 23:41

its the principle of the thing, i am very principled. If i think someone is deliberately shafting me, i wont let it go - not for a penny

Caitlin17 · 17/11/2013 23:52

Under Scots Law a shop isn't offering to sell you anything. It's an" invitation to treat". You make the offer to purchase when you take it to the till. The shop is perfectly entitled to say there's been a mistake and ask you to pay the higher price which you are perfectly entitled to refuse. No contract has been made, neither party has lost anything.

MrsHoratioNelson · 18/11/2013 00:00

contortionist that law is designed to catch traders that say "iPads for sale £5.99" and then claim (knowingly) that the £5.99 iPads have all gone and would you like to buy one for £599 instead? The situation the OP describes and the bookshop example are more honest pricing mistakes, so wouldn't be covered.

Bogeyface · 18/11/2013 00:02

CBA to RTFT but I would have done exactly what you did!

Its not the £1 is the principle. Either fulfill the offer or dont offer it!

Bogeyface · 18/11/2013 00:06

It's a pound - get over it.

When my son said he wanted "delivered pizza" for his birthday dinner, I was over the moon that his birthday was on a Tuesday! Without the BOGOF that Dominoes do on a Tuesday (plus another code I found on line), it wouldnt have been financially doable.

Its a pound to you, it could be a days worth of electricity or gas to another family.

sandfrog · 18/11/2013 00:19

YANBU. Their company got it wrong, so they should honour the voucher in the interests of good customer service. No good for the customer-facing staff to pass the buck to "company headquarters", as they are still representatives of the company themselves.

fauxhat · 18/11/2013 02:45

Yanbu,Look at it this way op.
The manager spent 10 min arguing with you,a returning customer,over a pound.
On a pizza that costs about 2 pounds to make.

GivesYouHell · 18/11/2013 05:14

You were right to argue - I would have done the same thing.

TobyLerone · 18/11/2013 05:25

It's the principle for the manager just as much as for the OP.

whatareyoueventalkingabout · 18/11/2013 05:41

YANBU. not at all. a pound might not be the hugest amount in the world but I bet your pizza tasted better after they have it to you for £5.99

DeckSwabber · 18/11/2013 08:04

I would be pissed off if i took up an offer and then fund that the offer had been changed. Its not the £1 - its the principle.

However, next time make french bread pizzas at home. Healthier, more fun and a lot cheaper!

tolittletoolate · 18/11/2013 08:04

I agree with you op, that is a blatant piss take and you were right to insist they honour it.

CatelynStark · 18/11/2013 08:13

I would have argued too :)

SoupDragon · 18/11/2013 08:17

How much did the phonecall cost you?

SoupDragon · 18/11/2013 08:19

Basically though, they were right and you were wrong.

It was good customer service to honour the incorrectly printed voucher but they were under no obligation to do so.

InMySpareTime · 18/11/2013 08:29

Is it the same for online purchases? I bought a printer worth £200 for £0.99 from Amazon. They took the money, I got an email saying they'd dispatched the item, then an email from the company saying they had an error in their pricing software and were refunding the transaction, not sending out the printer.
At what point is an online transaction binding?

TobyLerone · 18/11/2013 08:49

Basically it almost always comes under the 'errors and omissions excepted' clause in any company's terms and conditions.

For something like a 99p printer, that is an obvious error and anyone trying to buy it is clearly trying to pull a fast one and should not expect to receive the item at that price.

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