PC World Business Clearance Notebook

bargainaholic

I ordered a high end Sony Vaio Noteook from the PC World Business website on the evening of 1st August. There was 1 in stock, stating 3-5 days delivery. I went through the checkout process, paying by credit card. The stock level changed to unavailable, & the next morning I had a confirmation e-mail, & my order status changed to despatched on the website. My credit card was debited for the full amount.

The notebook was advertised as missing its battery, so I bought myself a new Vaio batery, and a used one off E-Bay. I also ordered a nice padded sleeve, & my brother bought me a Vaio carry case as my birthday present.

By the 8th August I'd still received nothing, so I rang Customer Services. I got told that it was on back order. I complained saying it was a clearance item, & had been in stock when I ordered, website said despatched etc. I was given another number to call. They told me my order had been cancelled, then they told me it had been re-raised - still for the same item. I queried where it was, & was told it would be picked that day. I pointed out that that was later delivery than advertised & was told somebody would ring me with an explanation. Surprise, surprise no phonecall came.

On the morning of 9th Aug I rang to check progress. I was told it would be delivered the next day. No delivery time could be given, so I did of course manage to miss the delivery. :mad:

The delivery was finally made this morning, & was a Sony Vaio all in one desktop :eek: . I rang PCWB straight away & got a returns number & the courier took it away with him again. I asked the Customer Service chap where my laptop was, & was told they'd have to look into it & someone would ring me back. I told him I needed it quickly, as I'm going on holiday next week, & want to take it with me.

I waited until 3pm, and no phonecall came, so I rang again. This time I'm told that a credit has been raised against the order. I explained that I don't want a credit, I want the laptop I've ordered. They are now saying that it was a clearance item, and they may not actually have it, so they can't fulfil the order.

This is going to leave to me with 2 batteries, 2 cases and no laptop.I tell them I've already bought a new battery & carry case for it based on the fact that I've had confirmation e-mails, & it was paid for 9 days ago.

The guy then offered a small amount of hope by saying it might still be in the depot & he'd ask the storesman to go and have a look and (you guessed it) he'd call me back. Obviously I've received no phonecall, & I'm not really expecting one.

How can I sort this out before I go holiday on Wednesday?

Do I have any right to insist they fulfil my order?

lemmings999

not by the looks on the terms and conditions

Conditions of Sale
Please scroll through this screen to read our Conditions of Sale and print a copy for future reference.

General

1. These Conditions of Sale are for business customers only.

2. We do business only under these Conditions of Sale, except for GCAT sales where separate conditions apply. The GCAT conditions can be found on the website https://www.gcat.gov.uk

3. Goods are subject to availability and may vary from those advertised.

4. You must decide before ordering if the goods are suitable for your needs.

5. Please note that we reserve the right to cancel or refuse orders for items shown on our website with an incorrect price or with any other incorrect information. No contract is made with you until we have dispatched your order.

bargainaholic

I've read & re-read the T&C. It's the "until we have dispatched your order. " bit that's my problem. I believed the laptop was despatched to me on the 2nd. My card was chardged, and the status of my order on the website change to despatched. At that point you have to believe you've got a contract.

RightRevBod

I am no lawyer, so my opinion is worth little, but I am going to give it anyway. It would look to me that you have a contract, and that if they cannot supply the item ordered, then they should provide you with an acceptable alternative.

The goods became your property once they had taken your money. If they then lost the goods after that time, it is negligence on their behalf and they should make restitution. This could be:

1. An acceptable replacement
2. Payment of any expenses occured by you due to their neglience. This would include the cost of the laptop, batteries, case etc.
3. Any other alternative that is acceptable to both parties.

I suggest that you decide what you want from them, and put it into a letter and send to the registered business address by recorded delivery. Give them a time limit - say 7 of 14 days to respond. After that time start proceddings through small claims court.

As you need this in a hurry, an altrnative might be to buy an alternative elsewhere, and bill PCW for the cost. I am sure that somebody with more knowledge of the law will be along soon to advise on if this is a legally enforcable couse of action. Either way, good luck.

Astaroth

According to their sites terms and conditions they havent formed a contract as the item hasnt actually been dispatched. Now even some large companies have unenforcable T&Cs but being realistic you arent going to get it sorted by going through PC World within your time limit.

What was the exact model of the laptop? I would be surprised if you cannot find it cheaper elsewhere - if you can then there would be no come back against PC World anyway for anything more than the cost of your telephone calls and then you have to prove a contract had been formed contrary to their websites claims.

RightRevBod

Astaroth wrote:

According to their sites terms and conditions they havent formed a contract as the item hasnt actually been dispatched.

From what I read of the original post, PCW claimed to have dispached the item, so the contract would have been formed at that point.

bargainaholic: Do you happen to have a screenshot showing the order status as dispatched?

bargainaholic

RightRevBod wrote:

From what I read of the original post, PCW claimed to have dispached the item, so the contract would have been formed at that point.

bargainaholic: Do you happen to have a screenshot showing the order status as dispatched?

Sadly not.

My orders are now non-existant according to their website. Yesterday it showed one order cancelled, & one despatched. Today it says "no orders were found".

bargainaholic

What was the exact model of the laptop? I would be surprised if you cannot find it cheaper elsewhere - if you can then there would be no come back against PC World anyway for anything more than the cost of your telephone calls and then you have to prove a contract had been formed contrary to their websites claims.

The laptop is a Vaio FE21M for which the online price range is £980-£1050.

I paid £703 (Inc VAT & delivery) for one in perfect condition, but in opened packaging, and missing its battery. I can't get close to this price anywhere else - especially now I've forked out for 2 batteries.

I've been looking for 4 months, so I'd checked out all the competition.

bargainaholic

Help!

They can't find the laptop I bought, so they've offered me an alternative of a complete FE21H. Which is a lower spec laptop - 100Mb HDD instead of 160Mb. It usually retails at £100 less than the FE21M. They say it's a higher cost laptop because it has all its bits, but I can have it at the same price. I say it's irrelevant that it has a battery as I already have 2, & can't use 3 at a time. So they've eroded my bargain.

I don't know what to do, but I need to give them an answer ASAP?

kuohu

A quick look on Kelkoo shows that the FE21H is worth about £900, so whilst this isn't what you wanted, they are still offering quite a bargain if you're getting it for £700.

It's a tough call really. If it was me I'd take the new offer, keep one spare battery and put the third one on ebay. Still quids in against having a full refund and going elsewhere.

But, all other things being equal (I presume), it depends if the 60gb HD difference will really make a difference to you for what you're going to use the laptop for.

...
Edit: In light of bargainaholic's message below about the cost of the FE21H also being £700, I've changed my mind about the above. I wouldn't go for it.

bargainaholic

I contacted a legal helpline I have through my home insurance tonight. They say that PC World Business' T&C wouldn't stand up to scrutiny at all. They advised me that PC World are in breach of contract & are liable for my losses

She said to write asking for a model of at least the spec I ordered stating "On reliance of contract I have incurred reasonable costs which I shall seek to recover if the contract is not fulfilled" & give them 14 days to respond.

The FE21H has the smaller HDD, aswell as a lesser video card, so I'm that keen on it for the same money. It's on their website for £699+VAT+£10 delivery if anyone's interested.