Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

[Little rose]

Hi

Trying to gather advice about the following:

On 17th December I purchased an Ipad 4 from Currys/PC World website under their Pay & Collect. The money was immediately taken from my account. I received confirmation of the order (contract?) stating that delivery would be 3-5 days. A little later I received an email saying that delivery would be delayed. On 23rd Dec I rang to check on when item would be delivered and was advised stock was coming from supplier but they didn't have a date yet. Was asked if I would like to cancel or wait for delivery. The Ipad was a bargain so I chose to wait for delivery. By 6th Jan still not item, rang again and was told the same thing. Agreed to wait a bit longer. I eventually emailed them explaining that I couldn't wait forever for the item and that if they couldn't supply the item THEY should cancel the order or if they wished they could send me an item of a similar spec. Eventually on 28th January they cancel the order and on 4th February refunded the money. Problem is I can't buy the item anywhere near this price now (I have since found out this Ipad was discontinued in October 2013). Is there anyway I can claim the difference between the price I paid and the cost now (or the cost of calls, loss of interest etc). They did initially agree to refund cost of calls but then withdrew the offer.

[des8]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

1) as with most online orders: contract not struck until goods dispatched, so you won't IMO be able to take action for loss of bargain.
2) if you have proof they agreed to refund cost of calls, or if you just feel like it, make a nuisance of yourself and keep pushing it, all the way to the top.
CEO: Sebastian.James@dixons.co.uk tel:0844 800 2030

[Little rose]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

Thank you for your reply.

Just wondered if I had any legal recourse for length of time it took for the refund (i.e. It took more than 30 days)?

[des8]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

From post1 I understand you emailed Currys sometime after 6th January (I assume around 20th Jan).
That email (no matter how you tried to phrase it) instructed currys to cancel.
They then have 30 days from date of cancellation in which to refund your money.
I don't believe you have a case, certainly not one worth pursuing.

If you see bargains in Currys online you're best using their reserve and collect scheme. You only pay when you collect the item, and you pay the cheaper price - store or on line.

[Silent assassin]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

hello Little rose

Where a contract is silent on when it will be fulfilled it must be done within a "reasonable time limit". This is dependent on a number of factors such as the item, price etc. When Curry's failed to supply you with the goods "within 3-5 day" they were technically in breach after that period and could be sued. You waivered your strict legal rights and allowed them more time to fulfill the contract. This is the situation.

Currys did nothing wrong by cancelling the order (at your request) and providing you with a full refund.

You cannot claim for the price you paid and the cost now. The only time that it would happen is if you could show that a breach by Currys resulted in a causative effect between them breaching the contract and your subsequent loss.

Example: I am a baker and one day my supplier for flour does not supply with goods. Can I, as a result of their breach, sue for loss of profits?

However, in your case that is not the situation. It would a a long shot to show that the difference in price between the one at Currys and the price elsewhere was part of the breach and therefore you could sue for "damages" for the difference.


If they agreed to refund the cost of the calls and you accepted this constitutes a contract and is an entirely separate legal obligation to the Ipad. They could be sued for it if it is worth your time. However, please note that nominal damages can be regarded badly by the courts. For example, bringing an action for £1.

Hope it helps!

[des8]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

[QUOTE=Silent assassin;425039]hello Little rose

When Curry's failed to supply you with the goods "within 3-5 day" they were technically in breach after that period and could be sued. You waivered your strict legal rights and allowed them more time to fulfill the contract. This is the situation.


IMO thjs is faulty advice:
No contract is struck with Curry's until the goods are dispatched.
Goods not dispatched = no contract.
No Contract, therefore no breach.

[Silent assassin]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

Faulty advice? I don't think so. A few points on the world of contract law. I append as follows:

When you make a contract certain elements need to be present. The main ones are:

• offer
• acceptance
• consideration

There are others which I shall not go into such as capacity, intention to create legal relations etc. Contracts can be made orally, in writing or by the conduct of the parties.

Let's assume I go on Amazon and order some goods and it's the 1st April but the goods are not dispatched until 3 days later. When is the contract made? On the 1st April NOT when the goods are dispatched. In other words the making of the contract and the dispatching of the goods do not coincide at the same point.

On the 17th December you made a contract with Currys. It is important to note that it is the customer that makes the offer and NOT Currys. Goods displayed by Currys are "invitations to treat" and not offers. Case: Boots v Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

When they gave a time period of 3-5 days and failed to delivery the goods technically they were in breach. This was waivered by you.

Other points:

When Currys offered to refund the cost of the calls this was a gratuitous gift only. However, gratuitous gifts are legally binding Case: Edwards v Skyways

The problem I have is that an offer (unless accepted) can be withdrawn at any time. An exception being is there is a "premium paid" to keep it open. They offered to refund the cost of the calls but within that period did you accept by words, in writing or other conduct. If not they can withdraw it with impunity.

[Amethyst]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

This is an argument lots of online retailers have had with their customers, mainly over misprice issues to be honest, however.... some retailers (tesco/argos etc) have in their terms that the contract of sale is not formed until goods are dispatched. The argument is that it should be formed on confirmation.

- invitation to treat (advertising goods on website)
- offer (placing the order) - consideration (making the payment)
- then acceptance - I think that's what is being argued over whether that's when they send confirmation email of your order or when they dispatch the goods.

I believe there is something in their terms and the invitation includes accepting their terms when making the offer and consideration.

Here's Argos terms

2.2 The 'confirmation' stage sets out the final details of your order. Following this, we will send to you an order acknowledgement email detailing the products you have ordered. Please note that this email is not an order confirmation or order acceptance from Argos. For FastTrack orders the email/SMS is an acknowledgement of your order, and does not constitute acceptance.


2.3 Acceptance of your order and the completion of the contract between you and us will take place on despatch to you of the products ordered unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it (please refer to Returns and refunds). For FastTrack orders, completion of the contract between you and us will take place when the products ordered have been collected from the store.

(only speaking based on the last two posts not specific to the OP's query - I'll read back ...... ok read back probably a moot point as the thread is from February - so we're okay to discuss ins and outs of contract law with online retailers if so desired )

[des8]

Re: Currys/PC World Goods not supplied and now to buy anywhere else £££s more

This is a point which has been raised on this site many times.

You make reference to Amazon. One does not contract with Amazon, who are facilitators, but their website states:
"the contract formed at the completion of a sale" ie contract is not formed on receipt of order.
Argos T&C state "Acceptance of Your order and the completion of the contract between you and us will take place on despatch.."
M&S T&Cs state "acceptance of your order will take place only when M&S dispatch the products"
Curry's wording is slightly different in that they reserve the right to cancel your order at any time upto the point they send the products.

It is clear that the majority of on line merchants do not accept the order until despatch of the goods takes place.

Crossed with Amethyst, yet again, as I had to leave computer to sort dogs. On return failed to check if other posts made!