Samsung 32" HD Ready LCD TV (HD Ready) for £675 delivered?!!!

mobile-advice

Well, I phoned up and it turns out my credit application was declined (this was for the 26"). Offered to pay for it in full off my debit card, but the woman said she'd have to take my details and get someone from the 'Internet team' to call me back.

Sounds strange. Actually, thinking about it now, does anyone have a number for this Internet team?

CCFC

hmm i phoned up earlier and was give the discount code and told to ring up and ask to pay in full and i WOULD get the 20% off!

ds3727

please contact our casual cash sales team on 0114 263 7077. These are the people who allow you to apy in full by credit card. They are also the ones that told me today all discount codes are now invalid!!

Refused to offer me any discount only full price purchase.

I've found some interesting information regarding contracts and internet purchases from a solicitors website:

"
How does a contract come into force when using the Internet and email?

In the usual way - an offer is made and accepted, and whatever has been agreed previously forms part of the contractual agreement.

Common pitfalls include:
· Carelessly sending email messages which have subsequent contractual implications.
· Publishing information on your website which later forms part of contractual agreements without your wishing it to do so.
· Poor website design allowing contractual obligations to be created without you wishing them to, or contracts which are not covered by the terms you would like.




What happens if my website contains incorrect information (eg prices) or offers goods which are out of stock?

If your website is designed in such a way that it makes an offer to the customer, and the customer accepts it, you may be contractually committed to supply at the advertised price. It has been known, for example, for companies to find themselves selling goods for £2.99 instead of £299 after a typing error. Similarly, if you agree to sell goods which you cannot supply, you may be contractually liable to the customer.

A safer solution is to ensure that your website only constitutes an 'invitation to treat' - ie an invitation for the customer to consider buying from you and to place their own 'offer'. If your website does contain incorrect information, you will then have the opportunity not to accept the customer's offer to buy.

I think Freemans have cocked up bigtime with their internet sales. They have accepted sales and then sent out written confirmation via e-mail and post and then gone back on their contractual obligation by arbitarilty cancelling the orders without informing their customers. Even if a code is invalid and they accept it and confirm it and thier terms and conditions do not give them the option of cancelling erroneous codes then I think they are breaking the law by failing to meet their contractual agreement. I'm not a solicitor so am awaiting a response from trading standards for thier stance on the matter.

ds3727

I think the Freemans website was designed by a 10 year old. They only started selling via the internet in 2005 and looks like they haven'y got to grips with it yet.

Normally when you make a purchase via a website you have to tick a box to agree to the terms & conditions:

"
How can I ensure that e-commerce transactions are covered by my terms and conditions?

You need the customer to agree to your terms and conditions before you accept an order (this is known as 'incorporation'). Simply hiding your terms and conditions somewhere on your website is not a good solution; instead, make sure that the customer has full notice of the terms and explicitly agrees (for example, by ticking a box to confirm that they have read and agreed to them).
"

I can't remember ever ticking a box on ordering through the Freemans website to say i agreed to their terms and conditions. They seem to be set up for people setting up accounts on credit and different terms and conditions apply to these accounts. For people who paid directly with credit card, who knows what terms and conditions apply I couldn't find anything of any relevance on their website.

ddavis

For crying out loud GIVE UP. Your greed cost you a bargain. Life goes on.

You haven't paid directly by credit card until they debit your card.

You will find trading standards will advise you that the offer hasn't been officially accepted by you until your card is charged. Up until this point they can say what they like.

Considering you ordered using an expired code, from a source you don't own, you are lucky not to be getting charged for fraud.

CCFC

well whats the score now becasue i phoned up earlier and a bloke gave me different code for the 20% of 1st order and said i could pay full amount by card today!

ds3727

ddavis, if you are a solicitor then I will bough to your superior knowledge and if a contract only comes into force when money changes hands then I will give up. If Someone can offer to sell you something, confirm this to you in writing, cancel your order without telling you and there is no legal obligation on their part then the law really is an !!!!!!.

To be honest I'm not that bothered about the TV anymore. What I am bothered about is how Freemans have gone about handling the situation and if they do have legal obligations then they should stick to them. If they don't have any obligations then fair play to them they may have crap customer relations but they have done nothing wrong.

CCFC

im bothered about the tv! dont care about freemans! so please can some one advise me on my post

"well whats the score now becasue i phoned up earlier and a bloke gave me different code for the 20% of 1st order and said i could pay full amount by card today!"

ddavis

ds3727 wrote:

ddavis, if you are a solicitor then I will bough to your superior knowledge and if a contract only comes into force when money changes hands then I will give up. If Someone can offer to sell you something, confirm this to you in writing, cancel your order without telling you and there is no legal obligation on their part then the law really is an !!!!!!.

To be honest I'm not that bothered about the TV anymore. What I am bothered about is how Freemans have gone about handling the situation and if they do have legal obligations then they should stick to them. If they don't have any obligations then fair play to them they may have crap customer relations but they have done nothing wrong.

I think thats the point i'm getting at - you have done something wrong. You have used a discount code provided to people in good faith with a set of terms attached. The code was in the catalogue and provided for the use of said catalogue owner. Just because you found a code on a website does not mean you have a legal entitlement to use it. (forgive me if you actually had the catalogue sent to you). Freemans can (and likely will if you try to take them to court) ask you to provide proof of the voucher in question. They will know if they have sent you a catalogue or not. They will also know that the expiry date was stated in the catalogue. Just because a website takes an order does not mean you have a contract - Dell are a shining example of this at its best. They often make horrendous mistakes without honouring them.

In your favour they don't make any mention of 'the right to refuse an order' which is essentially what they have done.

You can try it, but i wouldn't go mad.

No point in saying this though - To be honest I'm not that bothered about the TV anymore - Clearly you are, or you wouldnt be going to this much hassle.

CCFC

I want the tv and when i phoned today the worker at freemans told me the code i needed to use to get 20% off first buy!