can an online retailer cancel an order once they accepted it

sallywl

Can an online retailer cancel an order which they had emailed to say they were processing and then another to say that they have accepted the order?

They have not emailed us to let us know the order was cancelled and its only showing as cancelled on the tracking page?

The order was for a couple of cheap laptops, but surely once they accept the order they have to honour it, especially if they do not email to say it has been cancelled?!


any advice / info as to where I stand with this would be much appreciated

zootscoot

Once acceptance has been communicated, a binding contract comes into existence and it can not then be cancelled. Failure to honour the contract will amount to breach.

See further here:

http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Offer-and-acceptance.php

kirkeastment

If you've not been charged for the items, and they've not taken any payment, then yes they can cancel at any time.

They can also cancel any orders they see fit, if there is a price discrepancy that is not meant to be, or was never intended to be offered at such a price, and example of which would be the Argos Nintendo DSi fiasco, where £70 was knocked off.

zootscoot

The existence of a contract does not depend on exchange of money. A promise to make payment is sufficient.

stclair

sallywl wrote: »

Can an online retailer cancel an order which they had emailed to say they were processing and then another to say that they have accepted the order?

They have not emailed us to let us know the order was cancelled and its only showing as cancelled on the tracking page?

The order was for a couple of cheap laptops, but surely once they accept the order they have to honour it, especially if they do not email to say it has been cancelled?!


any advice / info as to where I stand with this would be much appreciated

Which company are you refering too?

Dave101t

online retailers have terms and conditions, read that.
usually the contract is not confirmed until physical despatch of goods. usually....

staffie1

Amazon cancelled 2 of my orders this christmas. One of which they had taken the money for. It was refunded, but at the end of the day, if the item is no longer available, you're not going to get it anyway.

sallywl

It was HP, my problem with it is that they acepted the order, why accept it if a) they dont have the stock (it said when we ordered that it was in stock) and if the pricing was a typo surely this would be picked up before accepting the order?

staffie1

sallywl wrote: »

It was HP, my problem with it is that they acepted the order, why accept it if a) they dont have the stock (it said when we ordered that it was in stock) and if the pricing was a typo surely this would be picked up before accepting the order?

It's possible they didn't know there was no stock when they took your order. It's not until the warehouse try to pick your order do they realise the shelf is empty. It does happen.

Many systems now are completely automated - there isn't necessarily a human being checking these orders as they are accepted - it's done by computer. It's not until the order gets to the picking/packing stage do humans become involved. This is why orders are not usually charged / accepted until despatch. (would explain your pricing issue too).

Ivory_Tinkler

Have you contacted them to ask why they cancelled it? Maybe they tried to take payment and your card was declined, maybe (as said above) there was no stock - you need to find out why they cancelled without any contact. I know that M&S and other big stores state that a contract only exists when goods have been sent out so you'd also need to know whether a contract actually existed too.

woody01

zootscoot wrote: »

Once acceptance has been communicated, a binding contract comes into existence and it can not then be cancelled. Failure to honour the contract will amount to breach.

See further here:

http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Offer-and-acceptance.php

Very wrong!
A contract hasn't even been formed, so there is nothing yet to cancel anyway.

zootscoot wrote: »

The existence of a contract does not depend on exchange of money. A promise to make payment is sufficient.

Sorry , but this is also rubbish.
Even if payment has been taken, a sale can still be stopped and reversed by any online retailer.
Until shipping/delivery has taken place, there is no tangible agreement.

Please try getting your facts right as you have beenvery misleading.