Misprint in Carphone Warehouse

Mandsmum

Last Wednesday I was in the Carphone Warehouse in the Abbeycentre and they had a big poster for a Dell laptop on sale 3GB memory 250GB hard drive for £299. Below the laptop on their 'normal' spec thingy it said 1GB memory and 160GB hard drive.I went back on Saturday and asked about it and the guy said the poster must be a misprint and he couldn't sell me the higher spec laptop for that price.
I emailed them saying I was disappointed that I couldn't purchase a product they had advertised in store and got a sorry email back.
Then yesterday I saw in their store in Cornmarket another poster (different design) advertising the same offer!When I enquired about it I was told that was a misprint as well!
I was just wondering how they can get away with this and could you insist on getting the higher spec laptop as it's clearly advertised on a big poster in more than one store?

Wee_Bargain_Hunter

Don't think the shop is obliged to sell anything to you as it's just an "invitation to treat". However, if you had a picture of the poster or magazine etc & quietly mentioned to the Manager that you will perhaps contact Trading Standards then they might just change their minds...
There are rules regarding promotional materials enticing you to buy somrthing that TS enforce. However, I'm no expert so hoping someone else will clarify this.

finished

think your correct.shops not legally bound to sell product at that price but It could be just a ruse to get you in to buy something else.sere cars are famous/notorious?? for this .they advertise a full spec car in advert at a very cheap price then if you ring its yes sir we have that available but when you arrive sorry sir we just this minute sold the last of those but ............can I interest you in this one?lower spec same price.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Abbafan1972

It sounds to me like a ploy just to get customers through the door.

stevieboy11

Yes, an advert is an invitation to traet

However....This looks like a case of fraudulent misrepresentation...The store might not want to sell it to you at that price, but unless they're prepared to remove the ad there and then, Trading Standards would be very interested in talking to them about their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act and others

Hope this helps

Wee_Bargain_Hunter

stevieboy11 wrote: »

Yes, an advert is an invitation to traet

However....This looks like a case of fraudulent misrepresentation...The store might not want to sell it to you at that price, but unless they're prepared to remove the ad there and then, Trading Standards would be very interested in talking to them about their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act and others

Hope this helps

That sounds serious.
On a related topic, just thought I'd mention that Tescos have a policy where if you are overcharged because buy something that's a different price than that on the shelf/packaging/poster etc then they will give you back double the difference. The policy is on the blue poster behind customer services and on blue stickers near some tills. Think this is to stop you reporting them to Trading Standards.
Think Asda used to give you a gift card?

Mandsmum

Thanks for the replies everyone. I found it interesting as I wasn't sure if this was legal, and I'm sure some people must have bought the laptop thinking they were getting the higher spec one but actually getting the lower one.
I just bought a nice laptop in Currys!

bingo_bango

Mandsmum,

Can you please contact Consumerline and report the details of this offer to them?

I would also urge everyone to report any instances of misleading or incorrect pricing through the same channel.

Thanks