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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
FredFredGeorge · 18/11/2013 08:52

While a shop does not have to honour any invitation to treat, it doesn't mean not honouring vouchers is legal, it could be an offence under "The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation", however there are few absolutes in that law.

StealthPolarBear · 18/11/2013 08:54

"Yanbu - you were right it is illegal and they can't withdraw the offer once its been made."

What are you basing that on?

DingbatsFur · 18/11/2013 09:19

It's always worth noting that major online pizza delivery firms usually have at least one active online voucher code (especially if you are with a major mobile network) which seriously cuts down the price of the pizza.

Fleta · 18/11/2013 09:27

I wouldn't have bothered for £1. I kind of think that if the effort taken to complain about it isn't proportional to the amount in question, then it isn't worth the time and the effort to get stressed out.

MrsOakenshield · 18/11/2013 09:40

I think YANBU on the principle of the thing - the fact that he let you have the pizza for 5.99 says a lot to me. Yes, it's only a pound but if no-one says, hey, wait a mo, your voucher says 5.99 and pulls them up on it, they will make a hell of a lot of extra money.

I don't like being treated like a doormat or an idiot, and expecting you to just go with this is exactly that.

TheHeadlessLadyofCannock · 18/11/2013 10:05

I think it's not about the money but about the principle. If a company makes a mistake like printing wrong vouchers, they need to suck up the financial consequences for the sake of ongoing customer goodwill. How many people might have tried to use that voucher, been told the same thing as the OP and decided to order from somewhere else instead and not use this pizza chain again? Goodwill and word of mouth is worth a lot, I think.

ballinacup · 18/11/2013 10:17

FWIW OP, I doubt very much that they will have spat on your pizza.

I used to work in Pizza Hut when I was at sixth form and honestly, no one ever spat on, or put bogeys into, a pizza. Why would we, the staff, have given a hoot about a customer getting an extra pound off the cost of their pizza?

I think some people on here have shockingly low opinions of hospitality/catering staff.

SoupDragon · 18/11/2013 10:19

I don't like being treated like a doormat or an idiot, and expecting you to just go with this is exactly that.

Except it isn't - legally they do not have to accept a misprinted voucher.

MrsOakenshield · 18/11/2013 10:26

the OP doesn't say it was a misprint, just that they had changed it. And I'll bet that the company knows full well that most people will just say, oh, it's only £1, and they are laughing all the way to the bank.

DuckworthLewis · 18/11/2013 10:37

Technically, its not an invitation to treat, an offer made by way of a published voucher is (usually) an example of a unilateral contract.

A unilateral contract confers obligations upon only one party (in this case the pizza company) which are legally binding and cannot be withdrawn once they have been made.

DuckworthLewis · 18/11/2013 10:40

See here for more info

TheHeadlessLadyofCannock · 18/11/2013 11:10

MrsO, she says 'the pizza company headquarters had printed wrong vouchers'.

I agree though that they were probably hoping most people wouldn't pick them up on it.

JohnnyUtah · 18/11/2013 11:21

I don't think it matters that the HQ printed the vouchers wrongly - your local branch delivered it to you and so they should honour it.

ZombieMonkeyButler · 18/11/2013 11:29

I probably would have argued the point too OP Blush. Not because I'm tight, but as a matter of principle.

I'm not sure I would have argued it for quite so long though - I probably would just have said "OK, thank you" and ordered elsewhere after a minute or two.

DuckworthLewis · 18/11/2013 11:38

*sorry, that should have been in bold:
nickelbabe, does it mean that a store can put a £15 price tag on a book, and then, when you go to the till to pay for the book, they say "It was a mistake, it's actually £ 25"?

This is a very honest and peaceful question. I am asking because a similar thing happened to one of my DD's friend, and DD's friend's dad, who is a layer, when up to the till and told them that what they were doing was illegal (so they sold the book to DD's friend for £ 15, as advertised). I am not a laywer, so I don't know if it is illegal or not, but I had that in my mind when I was talking to the pizza guy.*

The CAB have a good guide to this here if you are interested

MrsOakenshield · 18/11/2013 11:38

sorry, didn't re-read down far enough. Yes, I agree they hoped people wouldn't pick up or push it. And going by many responses on this thread, they are right to think that!

DuckworthLewis · 18/11/2013 11:47

I agree, the problem is that today its just a pound, tomorrow a fiver, the next day fifty quid and so on.

Where is the line drawn?

People have fought hard for many years for the protection that we all enjoy from those who would take the piss (employers, corporations, governments etc)

We all need to get a lot angrier about the trivialities of life, otherwise life just gets shitter for everyone.

Well done for standing up for yourself OP.

nickelbabe · 19/11/2013 17:13

Duckeortj.
it doesn't alter the dact that it's perfectly lawful for a company to withdraw an offer that has been nade in error.
I do run my own retail business, I have to know this stuff.

and it is an offer to treat - that's the correct legal term.

nickelbabe · 19/11/2013 17:21

btw, Duckeorth - read the article you've linked to, because it quite clearly states that a transaction is the contract, with or without money exchange.
the cashier has to agree to yoir offer, refardless of whether they made it in the first place.

eg

"plums are 50p each"
"ooh, i'd love a plum at 50p!"
"oh, I'm sorry, that should have said 60p. I can't sell it at 50p"
"I want it at 50p"
"I can't sell it at that price"
"I don't want to pay 60p"
"I'm sorry, I will have to withdraw tje item"

done.
it's lawful and allowed.
until the vendor says "yes, I'll sell it at thag price", there is no contract and no agreement

nickelbabe · 19/11/2013 17:29

not offer, invitation to treat.

a labelnor a voucher is an invitationnto treat "please makrme me annoffer onnthis pizza, I recommend 5.99"

PresidentServalan · 19/11/2013 18:36

All I would say to the person who said that one pound could be the difference between getting electric or not - I get that, and that is why I wouldn't use a chain pizza place - they are way too expensive.

And the point about staff sabotaging food is reasonable - I worked in a large cinema chain a few years ago, and knowing what they did to the food, I would never buy the food now.

SueDoku · 19/11/2013 18:38

I'd have argued. I went with 3 friends to a well-known pub chain to have a 'cheap and cheerful' meal. The pub had an offer on that if you texted a certain number (presumably so that they could sell your number on to make money) you got 25% off your meal. I had sent the text.

When we got to the bar and ordered, I showed the staff my text - and they summoned the manager, who told me that the deal was 1 text for each meal (this was not mentioned anywhere on the promotional materials). So I stood at the bar and sent 2 more texts, showed them to him - and we got our 25% off.... Smile

(Oh - and I was paying for all the meals, so it wasn't a case of each person who ordered having to send a text). It was pure Jobsworthiness...

PresidentServalan · 19/11/2013 18:41

And the reason it's not worth arguing the toss is that it really isn't worth your time - if it was a fiver then maybe it would be. But several minutes arguing - I would value my time higher than that and save it for something important tbh.

DownstairsMixUp · 19/11/2013 18:45

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

KEAWYED · 19/11/2013 18:59

I work in retail, and if somethings mispriced I'll honour it. If its a major price difference I'll ask the manager first (we have books priced in different parts of the store that can get missed when price changed)

Funny thing is you can see some customers waiting before its even scanned to jump down your throat. The more the customers nice to me the more I'll be helpful. But you were in the right

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