mistake on website ahould i have argued

[craig12]

just wanted to share with yiou a incident that happened to me from global commodity investments recently

on their website they had a 20g gold bar priced the same as a 10 g bar  so the 10 g was £284 and so was the 20 g bar £284

I ordered the 20g bar and it proceeded to paypal checkout basket  and confirmed my card , sent an e mail to my in box  with a dispatch date thanking me for the order of 1 20 g bar at £284

this was a Friday when I ordered the bar

on Monday I got a phone call from a Scottish accent chap that said they were unable to send the bar as it was a pricing mistake on their website, I argued that it took me through to checkout stage

he still insisted it wasn't able to be shipped at that price  and obviously he processed a paypal refund

 

was he correct , should I have took it further ?

[Danny-boy]

No, there was a case recently with (I think B&Q) where this happened and they were within their rights to cancel orders.

I think the contract is only binding when they ship the item, up until then it's cancel-able by either party.

[doogs]

I would have thought once they take your money there is a binding contract.

[ChrisSilver]

A contract is made binding when there is Offer and acceptance.

I am not entirely sure which is correct out of either:

a. Prices on their website are offers, you accept an offer by purchasing.

Or

b. Prices on their website are invitations of offers. When you checkout and buy you are merely sending them an offer. They accept the offer when they dispatch the goods.

I have a feeling that it might be b. in which case they are allowed to cancel your order at their discretion.

[Ares]

Friend of mine recently bought a 50 inch TV for £140 from Tesco online because they incorrectly labelled a 19 inch TV as a 50 and was described as such on the email invoice, after a bit of to-and-fro it eventually got posted through and is now sat in our digs.

 

It's a tricky situation as it depends on the seller but generally worthwhile to do, best case scenario you get the desired product and worst case you get a refund.

 

Selling is a quagmire about if the price is an offer or 'an invitation to treat' which technically isn't an offer.

[Shamatti]

My understanding is that an organisation is obliged to sell at the price advertised. If you walk in to a shop and an item is priced at £20, for example, they are legally obliged to sell it to you at £20, mistake or no. I can't see why this is any different.

 

Also - the contract was complete, they took your money for the purchase. At this point, having paid for it, the item was yours surely? They just hadn't shipped it yet.

 

I wouldn't have thought they had a leg to stand on. I would have challenged this all the way to the hilt! I certainly would not have backed down.

[Pete]

If you buy PMs from various sellers on the internet you will see a clause that locks you into the contract as soon as you place an order which they accept or send you an invoice. You cannot cancel or back out. If you decide not to pay they can charge a fee. Tbey also refer to a binding price due to the volatility of market prices. I would challenge your seller on this basis but it is clear they made a genuine error so chances of winning are slim but you might get some compensation.

[morezone]

In a shop, whatever the price is of an item is an invitation to treat.  If it's mispriced, the shop can either sell it to you at the misprice or not sell it to you at all.  They cannot ask you to pay the correct price.

 

Internet ordering is different.  Just because payment has been taken, the retailer can actually cancel the order and refund you.  The contract is more or less binding once it has been dispatched.  Once it's been dispatched, they can't ask you for any more money if they've mispriced something.  Internet ordering also gives you the right to cancel a contract under the distance selling regs even after it has been accepted by the retailer.

 

It's all really complicated but the bottom line is that the retailer does not have to sell you anything at any price.

[Danny-boy]

I thought that was the case MZ.