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Hi,
I made an online purchase for £540 which was paid at the time by debit card. The company sends me an email two days later stating that the money has been refunded due to:
"Unfortunately during the time between your request for an order with us and the processing stage of your order our distributors have gone out of stock of this product. This is a rare situation due to our frequently updated electronic stock feeds but occasionally an unforeseen rush on a product can occur or an update to the stock feed can fail to complete properly"
I've checked online and the company now have the same goods on sale for £720. Clearly they cancelled the order because of the price change and not because of being out of stock.
My understanding is that once the money is paid in full, there is a contract between the two of us.
On their website under the T&Cs there is a passage:
2.2 Every effort is made to ensure that prices shown on the website are accurate at the time you place your order. If an error is found, we will inform you as soon as possible and offer you the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price, or cancelling your order. If we doe not receive an order confirmation within 7 days of informing you of the error, the order will be cancelled automatically. If you cancel the order, or if the order is cancelled automatically due to the expiry of the 7 day period, we will refund or re-credit you for any sum that has been paid by you or debited from your credit card for the goods.
2.3 The goods are subject to availability. If on receipt of your order the goods you have ordered are not available in stock, we will inform you as soon as possible and refund or re-credit you for any sum that has been paid by you or debited from your credit card. We strive to ensure that all goods are delivered on time, however we do not accept liability for goods delivered on an unspecified day. We will not be liable for any consequential or indirect loss such as loss of profits, loss of goodwill, damage to trading relationships and financial loss. Our liability in respect of all other losses shall be limited to the invoiced value of the relevant order.
Does this still give the legal right to cancel a contract? I know there are many instances where companies fall back on their T&Cs only to have to be reminded that they are not legal. I just want to know whether these are legal and the company can cancel a contract once it has been made?
Thanks
I made an online purchase for £540 which was paid at the time by debit card. The company sends me an email two days later stating that the money has been refunded due to:
"Unfortunately during the time between your request for an order with us and the processing stage of your order our distributors have gone out of stock of this product. This is a rare situation due to our frequently updated electronic stock feeds but occasionally an unforeseen rush on a product can occur or an update to the stock feed can fail to complete properly"
I've checked online and the company now have the same goods on sale for £720. Clearly they cancelled the order because of the price change and not because of being out of stock.
My understanding is that once the money is paid in full, there is a contract between the two of us.
On their website under the T&Cs there is a passage:
2.2 Every effort is made to ensure that prices shown on the website are accurate at the time you place your order. If an error is found, we will inform you as soon as possible and offer you the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price, or cancelling your order. If we doe not receive an order confirmation within 7 days of informing you of the error, the order will be cancelled automatically. If you cancel the order, or if the order is cancelled automatically due to the expiry of the 7 day period, we will refund or re-credit you for any sum that has been paid by you or debited from your credit card for the goods.
2.3 The goods are subject to availability. If on receipt of your order the goods you have ordered are not available in stock, we will inform you as soon as possible and refund or re-credit you for any sum that has been paid by you or debited from your credit card. We strive to ensure that all goods are delivered on time, however we do not accept liability for goods delivered on an unspecified day. We will not be liable for any consequential or indirect loss such as loss of profits, loss of goodwill, damage to trading relationships and financial loss. Our liability in respect of all other losses shall be limited to the invoiced value of the relevant order.
Does this still give the legal right to cancel a contract? I know there are many instances where companies fall back on their T&Cs only to have to be reminded that they are not legal. I just want to know whether these are legal and the company can cancel a contract once it has been made?
Thanks
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