Internet order accepted, now refused?
Discussion
Hi all,
I placed an order with an online company, all went well, paid via cc, received a confirmation order with order number. However, this morning got an e-mail saying they can't fulfil the order, and have now cancelled it... As recompense, they've offered me a secondary offer which will mean i'll have to pay more than twice the price that i orignially ordered the goods at.
I'm not happy about this situation, I feel they've just used the low prices as a cheap, (excuse the pun!), way to get publicity for their website, and then make secondary offers at the new higher prices.
Where do I stand legally? If a company accepts, (and confirms), an order from you, do they then have to honour it? In their e-mail, they are not making any claims that they made a mistake with the orignal price, indeed they confirmed the original discount, but said there were only 'a few of the items' for sale at that price, yet they accepted MY order at that price, and are now trying to wriggle out of it!
Grrrrr!!
I placed an order with an online company, all went well, paid via cc, received a confirmation order with order number. However, this morning got an e-mail saying they can't fulfil the order, and have now cancelled it... As recompense, they've offered me a secondary offer which will mean i'll have to pay more than twice the price that i orignially ordered the goods at.
I'm not happy about this situation, I feel they've just used the low prices as a cheap, (excuse the pun!), way to get publicity for their website, and then make secondary offers at the new higher prices.
Where do I stand legally? If a company accepts, (and confirms), an order from you, do they then have to honour it? In their e-mail, they are not making any claims that they made a mistake with the orignal price, indeed they confirmed the original discount, but said there were only 'a few of the items' for sale at that price, yet they accepted MY order at that price, and are now trying to wriggle out of it!
Grrrrr!!
This has happened lots of times before.
IIRC? It goes something like this:
They make offer.
You accept offer.
You make payment.
They accept payment.
They send confirmation of acceptance.
Contract formed.
If they send the acceptance of your order, they are contractually bound to honour it?
At least, that was the way it went last time I read one of these types of posts.
Edit to add:
http://www.out-law.com/page-2331
I also seem to remember, that if the price was "obviously" wrong, there would be a get out for the company selling the goods.
Another edit:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,3921...
Check the t&c's
IIRC? It goes something like this:
They make offer.
You accept offer.
You make payment.
They accept payment.
They send confirmation of acceptance.
Contract formed.
If they send the acceptance of your order, they are contractually bound to honour it?
At least, that was the way it went last time I read one of these types of posts.
Edit to add:
http://www.out-law.com/page-2331
I also seem to remember, that if the price was "obviously" wrong, there would be a get out for the company selling the goods.
Another edit:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,3921...
Check the t&c's
Edited by philthy on Wednesday 17th February 09:08
Edited by philthy on Wednesday 17th February 09:11
philthy said:
This has happened lots of times before.
IIRC? It goes something like this:
They make offer.
You accept offer.
You make payment.
They accept payment.
They send confirmation of acceptance.
Contract formed.
If they send the acceptance of your order, they are contractually bound to honour it?
At least, that was the way it went last time I read one of these types of posts.
Edit to add:
http://www.out-law.com/page-2331
I also seem to remember, that if the price was "obviously" wrong, there would be a get out for the company selling the goods.
Another edit:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,3921...
Check the t&c's
That is quite correct.IIRC? It goes something like this:
They make offer.
You accept offer.
You make payment.
They accept payment.
They send confirmation of acceptance.
Contract formed.
If they send the acceptance of your order, they are contractually bound to honour it?
At least, that was the way it went last time I read one of these types of posts.
Edit to add:
http://www.out-law.com/page-2331
I also seem to remember, that if the price was "obviously" wrong, there would be a get out for the company selling the goods.
Another edit:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,3921...
Check the t&c's
Edited by philthy on Wednesday 17th February 09:08
Edited by philthy on Wednesday 17th February 09:11
The law has evolved so that a acknowledgement of order is simply that - and companies often send these out.
However, if after that point you receive a confirmation of acceptance of the order and they have taken payment, then that is binding.
The problem is here in how to enforce this. Legally you have no reason to accept a replacement, and you could accept a refund. To get anything better you would have to get a court order for specific performance, or put them on notice that if they do not supply you with what was contractually agreed you will buy elsewhere and sue for the difference.
The bind is whether it is worth the hassle... Which is probably what they are banking on.
BertBert said:
I think that what philthy puts is not quite correct, happy to be proven wrong.
They do not have to send confirmation of offer. The contract is formed when they accetp payment (in the sequence laid out above).
Bert
Yes, if you want to be pernickety then that is correct - the guts of what he said was right though. They do not have to send confirmation of offer. The contract is formed when they accetp payment (in the sequence laid out above).
Bert
The legal framework is based around exact terms but is usually:
Website - Offer to treat.
You - Offer to form contract.
Website - Confirmation of receipt.
then...
Website - Acceptance of order and contract formed (although payment may be taken, it does not have to be)
Thanks all...
A couple of points to clarify:
1. The price they offered the goods at was not a mistake.
2. They took card payment details when I placed the order.
3. The order confirmation came through after I'd completed the order and payment had been approved...
I'm properly narked that they've reneged on the agreement in place. I'll write them a strongly worded letter, as it sounds like we formed a contract once the payment was made?
Will see what happens... Thanks for all your input!
A couple of points to clarify:
1. The price they offered the goods at was not a mistake.
2. They took card payment details when I placed the order.
3. The order confirmation came through after I'd completed the order and payment had been approved...
I'm properly narked that they've reneged on the agreement in place. I'll write them a strongly worded letter, as it sounds like we formed a contract once the payment was made?
Will see what happens... Thanks for all your input!
Mr2Mike said:
Revs_Addiction said:
I'll write them a strongly worded letter, as it sounds like we formed a contract once the payment was made?
Did they actually take money from your card then?1st time I put the wrong card number in and it came up with an error, so I had to re-enter the details to complete the order. I also went through the card verification thing too, so I would imagine so. Although I'll hold my hands up and say that I'm not sure how the banking side of internet shopping works!!
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