Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

[RSVPT]

Hi there,

A few friends and I came across a good bargain on Currys website to Buy an 2 x LED Smart TV's as a package deal for £600 stating a saving of £1600.
Naturally we all bought the deal individually on our credit cards online. We all received confirmation of the order and all had a set delivery date.

An hour later the offer was not available on the website and a couple of hours after that we all received an email saying that the order had been cancelled.
One of us phoned and was told that an error had occurred and they would return the monies.

What are our rights? Do we have any options to force the deal we bought?
I saw a website saying that some previous M&S customers brought weight to bear on M&S in a similar case but starting an online petition called "Marks & Spencer supply our TV’s that we paid for’
and M&S eventually honoured the deal?

Please advise- many thanks

[des8]

Re: Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

Hi
Check the terms and conditions shown on line as they may state that Curry can refuse to honour sales if there has been an error in pricing.
On the other hand Kodak tried a similar trick but had to back down:

:


Kodak's standard terms did not set out explicitly when a binding contract was formed between it and the customer. Kodak refused initially to honor the orders it received, arguing that its standard terms allowed Kodak to change the content of its website, including pricing, at any time. Alternatively, Kodak argued that, if there was a contract formed, that contract could be void by reason of "mistake" (that is—the price of the goods offered was so low that there was obviously a mistake).
Kodak's refusal to fulfill orders was widely reported. The common legal view was that Kodak would lose any actions brought against it because (a) its standard terms were unfair to the consumer; (b) a camera worth £300 being sold as a special offer for £100 was not an obvious mistake; and (c) Kodak's automatic reply not only acknowledged the order, but used the words "this contract." Kodak bowed to pressure and fulfilled the orders, at a loss of millions of pounds.
in addition to English contract law, a number of legislative provisions may provide guidance for the resolution of disputes arising from e-commerce auto-reply purchases:
The Consumer Protection Act 1982 makes it a criminal offence to falsely describe goods or services in the course of a trade or business and provides the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) with additional powers to combat misleading advertising. The OFT is able to seek a High Court injunction to prevent the continued display or publication of such advertisements. While there is no criminal sanction under this legislation, action can be taken against advertisers who mislead the public.
The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations provide that a consumer is not bound by a standard term in a contract with a seller or supplier if that term is unfair. Those regulations also give the OFT powers to stop the use of unfair standard terms, if necessary by obtaining a court injunction. Ultimately, only a court can decide whether a term is unfair.
Under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, the OFT can apply to the High Court for an injunction preventing the further publication of a misleading advertisement.







Having received a confirmation of the order and a delivery date IMO (for what it's worth) I would complain in first place to Customer Care/Complaints or whatever they cal it) and if no joy go to CEO. If that doesn't work get together with all your mates and anyone else whose been affected and consider CC

If you intend taking this further, do print out your order, their confirmation etc for possible future use

[RSVPT]

Re: Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

Thank you very much for the info and advice. I certainly feel very upset and naturally disappointed re their stance. I will complain via email to the avenues you suggest and will take it to cc if required.

Many thanks

[labman]

Re: Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

I think you'll find this link very interesting and informative:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...php?p=44219570

[teaboy2]

Re: Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

As someone whos company sells online, i can definitely confirm that a seller is under no obligation whatsoever to honor a sale, even if the price was correct and order confirmation and dispatch details send (which is done automatically on most online stores when you complete your order), they do not have to honor the order even if they have taken monies for it. Which for online sales it clear that monies will be exchanged before the seller has chance to review the details of the sale or transaction.

A seller can refuse to honor any sale they wish regardless of their reason (After all you can not force someone to sell something to you), though obviously monies most be returned to the buyer within a reasonable time frame.

[des8]

Re: Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

Yep, that's why in first line I advised OP to check T&Cs.
And sure enough Currys reserve right to cancel upto the time of dispatch of the goods.
Kodak's situation was different in they did not stipulate that in their T&Cs.

[teaboy2]

Re: Currys Dont Honor Lower Selling Price

Yep, but to be honest they don't even need to have anything in there terms and conditions, though it is good practice to have it there.