Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Retailer pricing error

150 replies

Spoonfulofgin · 26/12/2022 16:33

Saw an item online from a well known retailer... bought it... they called me today to tell me that they had made an error with the price and I can either pay the difference or they can give me a full refund. Anybody know what my rights are please?

Thank you

OP posts:
FitAt50 · 26/12/2022 18:21

PurpleButterflyWings · 26/12/2022 16:35

I doubt you have to pay the extra. Tell them you will see them in court.

Qualified lawyer are you?

CoffeeBoy · 26/12/2022 18:23

There was a lengthy thread on th8s years ago on MN, someone spotted a total bargain and put it on MN and loads of people bought it …..can’t remember what it was but it was £hundreds less than you’d expect. Everyone got their orders cancelled.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe · 26/12/2022 18:23

Goodness me. People (like OP) get phished all the time. Quite often they have good software that prevents this. Just as often they don't. It's not likely that the company would be hacked but, consumers give out their financial details online all the time. Not really a great leap.

CoffeeBoy · 26/12/2022 18:24

user1964097 · 26/12/2022 17:57

There was a long thread on here once about a M&S chair or sofa that was misplaced at £10 or something like that, loads of people ordering and I think all cancelled

That was it! 😁

Flapjackquack · 26/12/2022 18:24

Sparklingbrook · 26/12/2022 18:21

These are pretty clear then. OP will know what stage the order got to and whether 3.6 applies or not.

obsessedwithblankets · 26/12/2022 18:27

If it is OFL, this is in their Ts and Cs:

3.6 We will contact You if Your order has not been accepted. This will usually be because:
the Product(s) are unavailable;
We cannot authorise Your payment;
You are not allowed to purchase the Products from Us;
We are not allowed to sell the Products to You;
You have ordered too many Products;
there has been a mistake on the pricing or description of the Products; or
matters have arisen in respect of an application by You for credit and / or finance.

it's murky though as they say in the above para:

3.5 No order has been accepted by Us until We have received payment from You or a third party finance provider and have sent You an Order Acknowledgement. A contract will be formed when We accept Your order in accordance with this paragraph but You will still have the right of cancellation in accordance with section 9 below.

Seems to be contradictory to send an acknowledgement and then be able to renege on it and say they don't accept it?

obsessedwithblankets · 26/12/2022 18:31

6.3 We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price of the Product advised to You is correct. However, it is always possible that, despite Our best efforts, some of the prices for the Products may be incorrect. If We accept and process Your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakable and could reasonably have been recognised by You as mispricing, We may end Our contract with You, refund You any sums You have paid and require the return of the Products from You.

Wow, this is also in their Tc and Cs - even if a product is mis-priced and delivered - they can still request it to be returned?! I've never heard of that before

Wakk · 26/12/2022 18:33

PurpleButterflyWings · 26/12/2022 16:35

I doubt you have to pay the extra. Tell them you will see them in court.

Please do this GrinGrinGrin

Clymene · 26/12/2022 18:34

SinnerBoy · 26/12/2022 18:13

Clymene

Where does it say she has had confirmation

In her second post, on page 1.

I'm quite surprised at the number of people saying that she has no rights; they obviously haven't looked at the CAB website, linked to in a number of posts.

And the ones saying that she knew it was wrong all along, when she said that she only found out, when they sent an email.

Yes, and I missed it and apologised.

But there is no way she's going to get them to sell it to her for a massive discount because they made a mistake. Their lawyers will have made sure that they are absolutely watertight as the sections of their T&Cs quoted by other posters have demonstrated.

SinnerBoy · 26/12/2022 18:35

Yes, and I missed it and apologised.

Oops, sorry! I skipped a couple of pages and went straight to comment.

user1964097 · 26/12/2022 18:36

obsessedwithblankets · 26/12/2022 18:31

6.3 We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price of the Product advised to You is correct. However, it is always possible that, despite Our best efforts, some of the prices for the Products may be incorrect. If We accept and process Your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakable and could reasonably have been recognised by You as mispricing, We may end Our contract with You, refund You any sums You have paid and require the return of the Products from You.

Wow, this is also in their Tc and Cs - even if a product is mis-priced and delivered - they can still request it to be returned?! I've never heard of that before

There was also a lengthy thread I think last year where John Lewis had made a pricing error with some vouchers and had sent the stuff out and were asking for it back, they were also getting it recalled from the courier. Thread was quite amusing, some people had ordered loads

DashboardConfessional · 26/12/2022 18:39

They are able to cancel. If they weren't and a retailer accidentally priced everything at a loss, they'd fold if forced to despatch them all.

ChristmasCaroline · 26/12/2022 18:54

Sounds really dodgy to me. I’d wait til tomorrow and call their customer service team. Who is it? Are you sure you used the proper website?

alwaysinwellies · 26/12/2022 18:58

user1964097 · 26/12/2022 18:36

There was also a lengthy thread I think last year where John Lewis had made a pricing error with some vouchers and had sent the stuff out and were asking for it back, they were also getting it recalled from the courier. Thread was quite amusing, some people had ordered loads

Show quote history

Wasn't there a thing a fair few years ago about Saltrock- they had a discount code that they had created for one client for £20 off any order - and it got out and they were inundated. I think they spent days cancelling them all down

prh47bridge · 26/12/2022 18:59

I haven't read the full thread, but I can see at least one poster has got this right. As you have not yet received the goods, it depends on when the contract is formed, which in turn depends on the seller's terms and conditions. Many online resellers say the contract is not formed until the goods are despatched. However, some say the contract is formed earlier in the process.

If there is a contract, they cannot change the price unless it was a genuine mistake on their part and should have been obvious to you, e.g. a £1500 tv on sale for £30. If there is no contract, you have no rights other than the choice they have given you - pay the higher price or have a full refund.

Sparklingbrook · 26/12/2022 19:00

prh47bridge · 26/12/2022 18:59

I haven't read the full thread, but I can see at least one poster has got this right. As you have not yet received the goods, it depends on when the contract is formed, which in turn depends on the seller's terms and conditions. Many online resellers say the contract is not formed until the goods are despatched. However, some say the contract is formed earlier in the process.

If there is a contract, they cannot change the price unless it was a genuine mistake on their part and should have been obvious to you, e.g. a £1500 tv on sale for £30. If there is no contract, you have no rights other than the choice they have given you - pay the higher price or have a full refund.

The T&Cs are posted up there somewhere ^

prh47bridge · 26/12/2022 19:02

Sparklingbrook · 26/12/2022 19:00

The T&Cs are posted up there somewhere ^

Show quote history

I can see Tx&Cs for Oakland Furniture but I haven't seen anything from OP that confirms this is the retailer concerned.

prh47bridge · 26/12/2022 19:03

Sorry - Oak Furniture Land - wish Mumsnet had an Edit button!

PurplePixies · 26/12/2022 19:08

If they’ve already take your money, then they’ve entered into a legally binding contract.

PurplePixies · 26/12/2022 19:10

Regardless of what they’ve written into their T&C, they can’t over-ride your statutory rights.

prh47bridge · 26/12/2022 19:11

obsessedwithblankets · 26/12/2022 18:27

If it is OFL, this is in their Ts and Cs:

3.6 We will contact You if Your order has not been accepted. This will usually be because:
the Product(s) are unavailable;
We cannot authorise Your payment;
You are not allowed to purchase the Products from Us;
We are not allowed to sell the Products to You;
You have ordered too many Products;
there has been a mistake on the pricing or description of the Products; or
matters have arisen in respect of an application by You for credit and / or finance.

it's murky though as they say in the above para:

3.5 No order has been accepted by Us until We have received payment from You or a third party finance provider and have sent You an Order Acknowledgement. A contract will be formed when We accept Your order in accordance with this paragraph but You will still have the right of cancellation in accordance with section 9 below.

Seems to be contradictory to send an acknowledgement and then be able to renege on it and say they don't accept it?

On the assumption this is Oak Furniture Land, my reading of Section 3 is that they will either send you an Order Acknowledgement, in which case there is a binding contract, or they will contact you to explain why they aren't accepting your offer, in which case you will not receive an Order Acknowledgement. If they send you an Order Acknowledgement (not just an automated confirmation email), they cannot demand additional payment unless it is an obvious error.

prh47bridge · 26/12/2022 19:14

PurplePixies · 26/12/2022 19:08

If they’ve already take your money, then they’ve entered into a legally binding contract.

This is not true, so your next post is also wrong. The seller's Ts & Cs dictate when a legally binding contract is formed. For online retailers, it is rare for it to be when you place the order.

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 26/12/2022 19:14

PurplePixies · 26/12/2022 19:10

Regardless of what they’ve written into their T&C, they can’t over-ride your statutory rights.

They can. Online it depends on what is written is their T&Cs.

WeepingSomnambulist · 26/12/2022 19:15

PurplePixies · 26/12/2022 19:08

If they’ve already take your money, then they’ve entered into a legally binding contract.

That is not a statutory right.

Retailers have the legal right to cancel orders in the event of a mistake in pricing. It is not a statutory right to still get the item; it is the opposite.