PS4 bundle: ordered then refunded

groundsman76 · 2 October 2016 at 9:18AM

Hi all

I bought a PS4/FIFA 17 bundle on Thursday for £149 with Game (bought online).

Thursday, I get an email confirming this. Then I get a 2nd email saying it is dispatched, 2 day delivery.

On Friday evening I get an email saying the demand was too great and they are cancelling my order and returning my money.

So I'm getting my money back, but the items are now available only a day later at the higher price of £249. £149 was a flash sale.

Is there a consumer law that they have broken or was I within my rights to say...."no I will wait till the item is in stock rather than a refund". ???

pinkshoes · 2 October 2016 at 10:23AM

groundsman76 wrote: »

Hi all

I bought a PS4/FIFA 17 bundle on Thursday for £149 with Game (bought online).

Thursday, I get an email confirming this. Then I get a 2nd email saying it is dispatched, 2 day delivery.

On Friday evening I get an email saying the demand was too great and they are cancelling my order and returning my money.

So I'm getting my money back, but the items are now available only a day later at the higher price of £249. £149 was a flash sale.

Is there a consumer law that they have broken or was I within my rights to say...."no I will wait till the item is in stock rather than a refund". ???

What do the T&Cs state about a contract being formed?

It is usually upon delivery, so until delivery they can cancel at any time.

You can ask, but they do not have to agree.

DCFC79 · 2 October 2016 at 11:30AM

I know the consoles at the price of £149 were old stock and the 1 at £259 is the new look PS4 design.

Game have shafted themselves with this.

bris · 2 October 2016 at 5:35PM

pinkshoes wrote: »

What do the T&Cs state about a contract being formed?

It is usually upon delivery, so until delivery they can cancel at any time.

You can ask, but they do not have to agree.

A contract isn't formed when the retailer says so, it's formed when all the conditions of a contract are met, the retailers T&C's can not over rule contract law.

The courts would look at all the stages of the sale and to see if they have all been met. In this case you have to look at if a mistake has been made by the retailer somewhere down the line. Was it a pricing error, did they really mean to price it so low? This is where consideration comes in, another key stage in the process. The retailer was selling them for that price and they did accept the offer so no mistakes were made.

The retailer got greedy and tried to sell more than they had or could get a hold of, this is a broken contract so loss of bargain could be the case here. It's not the buyers fault, the retailer shouldn't offer for sale what he hasn't got.

Case law involving B&Q and a dishwasher that was on sale prove this point.

sgriff77 · 2 October 2016 at 7:35PM

This seems to have happened on mass scale.

Game intended to offer this bundle at said price.

How do you proved with loss of bargain case.

Happened to me. Order placed, ordered confirmation by email, payment processed, email stating order shipped then following day email cancelling the order and have to wait 10 days for refund

naedanger · 2 October 2016 at 8:08PM

groundsman76 wrote: »

Hi all

I bought a PS4/FIFA 17 bundle on Thursday for £149 with Game (bought online).

Thursday, I get an email confirming this. Then I get a 2nd email saying it is dispatched, 2 day delivery.

On Friday evening I get an email saying the demand was too great and they are cancelling my order and returning my money.

So I'm getting my money back, but the items are now available only a day later at the higher price of £249. £149 was a flash sale.

Is there a consumer law that they have broken or was I within my rights to say...."no I will wait till the item is in stock rather than a refund". ???

As a previous poster has said this depends on whether you have a valid contract. I think Game's terms and conditions say "Acceptance of your order and the formation of a contract between you and Us will take place when we send you an email confirming that the products you have ordered are being dispatched to you, unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have already cancelled it in accordance with the provisions below". (Had their terms and conditions said a contract would be formed when the item was delivered then it would be different as you would not have had a contract.)

You need to check the terms and conditions you agreed are the same (or essentially the same) as what I have quoted above. If they are then, as Game have sent you an email saying the item was dispatched, it seems you do have a valid contract.

If you have a valid contract then the seller is legally obliged to supply what you ordered. If they breach the contract by failing to supply what you ordered then you can sue them for damages. The primary purpose of damages in contract law is to place the injured party in the position they would have been in had the contract been performed - in your case to have the bundle for the cost of £149.

(There are circumstances where a seller would not be obliged to supply the goods even with a "contract" e.g. if the price was obviously wrong, but I don't believe that is the case here.)

Did you pay by credit card? If so they you may find it easier to claim against them?

sgriff77 · 2 October 2016 at 8:52PM

From game.co.uk t&c website

Orders for Sales & Purchases

Further information about placing and paying for an order is set out in Our Ordering and Payment help pages.

You may place an order to purchase a product advertised for sale on the Site by following the onscreen prompts after clicking on the item you are interested in. You will have an opportunity to check and correct any input errors in your order up until the point at which you submit your order (by clicking 'pay now' on the 'payment' page of the checkout procedure).

All orders placed by you are subject to acceptance by us. We may choose not to accept your order for any reason and will not be liable to you or to anyone else in those circumstances. On any such occasion We will email you to make you aware as soon as it is possible to do so.

You will receive an email, once your order is in process detailing your order reference and details of the product(s) you have ordered. Please note that this email is an acknowledgement only and is not an acceptance of your order.

Acceptance of your order and the formation of a contract between you and Us will take place when We send you an email confirming that the products you have ordered are being dispatched to you, unless We have notified you that We do not accept your order or you have already cancelled it in accordance with the provisions below (see Cancelling an Order).

Although We endeavour to give accurate stock availability information on the Site occasionally products you order may not be available. If this happens We will cancel your order, send you an email to confirm the cancellation and any sum debited by Us from your debit/credit card will be refunded in full to the same card.

JJG · 2 October 2016 at 8:55PM

This is an interesting situation. My sister ordered the same product and received the dispatch email. She subsequently received an email "thanking her for her return" letting her know her refund was on the way. The t&c's state that a contract is formed upon the dispatch email being sent. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out, as it seems GAME have well and truly shafted themselves here.

sgriff77 · 3 October 2016 at 9:22AM

From game
You're more than welcome to take this to the retail Ombudsman if you're not happy with the situation or our replies here.

As we are completely out of stock of this item we're unable to provide the bundle, or source any to replace the bundle with. I understand what you have passed to us is in our terms and conditions, but directly below that it also states the following.

"Although We endeavour to give accurate stock availability information on the Site occasionally products you order may not be available. If this happens We will cancel your order, send you an email to confirm the cancellation and any sum debited by Us from your debit/credit card will be refunded in full

naedanger · 3 October 2016 at 10:20AM

sgriff77 wrote: »

From game
You're more than welcome to take this to the retail Ombudsman if you're not happy with the situation or our replies here.

As we are completely out of stock of this item we're unable to provide the bundle, or source any to replace the bundle with. I understand what you have passed to us is in our terms and conditions, but directly below that it also states the following.

"Although We endeavour to give accurate stock availability information on the Site occasionally products you order may not be available. If this happens We will cancel your order, send you an email to confirm the cancellation and any sum debited by Us from your debit/credit card will be refunded in full

The paragraph you/they have quoted would only be relevant if they had not issued an email saying they had dispatched the item. As they did issue such an email your purchase went beyond the "order" stage and became a contract. As you have a contract they cannot now just cancel it; you are legally entitled to be put into the same position financially as you would be were they to have fulfilled the contract. So you are entitled to the minimum amount now needed to get the bundle elsewhere (obviously this would be instead of a refund, and not in addition to it).

If I was in your position I would not take the matter to the Retail Ombudsman, which is not an official body and does not have a good reputation as far as I am aware. Instead if I had paid by credit card then I would make a Section 75 claim. Otherwise, assuming the bundle is now significantly more expensive elsewhere, I would make a small claim online. (This does involve some expense which you should recover if you win your case.)

Fosterdog · 3 October 2016 at 10:37AM

naedanger wrote: »

The paragraph you/they have quoted would only be relevant if they had not issued an email saying they had dispatched the item. As they did issue such an email your purchase went beyond the "order" stage and became a contract. As you have a contract they cannot now just cancel it; you are legally entitled to be put into the same position financially as you would be were they to have fulfilled the contract. So you are entitled to the minimum amount now needed to get the bundle elsewhere (obviously this would be instead of a refund, and not in addition to it).

If I was in your position I would not take the matter to the Retail Ombudsman, which is not an official body and does not have a good reputation as far as I am aware. Instead if I had paid by credit card then I would make a Section 75 claim. Otherwise, assuming the bundle is now significantly more expensive elsewhere, I would make a small claim online. (This does involve some expense which you should recover if you win your case.)

The problem with that is that it was an old and now outdated version of a product which is no longer available, possibly with any retailer so there may not be a way of getting the same product with Game paying the difference. It also wasn't a set item but a bundle, there may not be any other retailers offering the exact bundle.

PS4 bundle: ordered then refunded

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