Advice Needed - False Advertising at Currys

Jagjit1504

hi, I went to buy a TV from currys today. it was advertised at £429 in-store but when I got to the till and put my card in, it came up as £549. The store refused to sell at the advertised price of £429 which was on the information sheet on the TV, and they said it was because they had failed to print out the new prices.

Was wondering if the store was able to change the price. They told me the law had changed and they were allowed to correct the mistake and could not sell me the TV at the advertised price. Also their head office said it was the store's responsibility to deal with it not them and that basically my complaint would be ignored.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Judas

Yes.
They are right.

unholyangel

No contract is in place until money exchanges hands.

Therefore, unless you have actually paid for it, yes.....they can change the price.

You could maybe try writing a complaint to their head office and see if they'd be willing to give you a goodwill gesture/discount but legally, they have no obligations. If you put your complaint in writing, then they have to acknowledge it and investigate/respond. But as i said, they have no obligations so i wouldnt expect them to actually do anything other than apologise for the correct price not being shown.

You could check online and see what the price of that model is, you never know you might get it cheaper. I got a great TV from aldi for £280. Its not a well known brand in the UK but its one of the top german brands and germans are notorious as sticklers for good service/products Used a lot of the same brand over the years and never had a problem. Always been really helpful and speedy when anything arose. 3 year warranty, that i actually know is worth something and that they wont fob me off like a lot of companies do.........definitely cant complain.

Laz123

Jagjit1504 wrote: »

hi, I went to buy a TV from currys today. it was advertised at £429 in-store but when I got to the till and put my card in, it came up as £549. The store refused to sell at the advertised price of £429 which was on the information sheet on the TV, and they said it was because they had failed to print out the new prices.

Was wondering if the store was able to change the price. They told me the law had changed and they were allowed to correct the mistake and could not sell me the TV at the advertised price. Also their head office said it was the store's responsibility to deal with it not them and that basically my complaint would be ignored.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Does anyone know when the law was changed and why? A serious question. Pre the law being changed they would have had to sell it at the advertised price.

Meepster

The law hasn't changed, it's always been the same. A retailer doesn't have to sell any goods for any price to anyone. If a mistake has been made with regards to pricing, they can refuse to sell the goods at that price.

Laz123

mwilletts wrote: »

The law hasn't changed, it's always been the same. A retailer doesn't have to sell any goods for any price to anyone. If a mistake has been made with regards to pricing, they can refuse to sell the goods at that price.

I'm sorry to contradict this misconception but I was in retail advertising for over two decades and a retailer had to sell an item at the advertised price by law. Somewhere down the line the law has changed.

unholyangel

Laz123 wrote: »

Does anyone know when the law was changed and why? A serious question. Pre the law being changed they would have had to sell it at the advertised price.

Its been that way for at least the past 12 years or so that i know of personally. The seller can sell for the advertised price but this would be a goodwill gesture on their part rather than a legal obligation.

Although it is common for supermarkets to refund the difference + a small "gift"/double the difference if there has been a pricing error. But theres quite a bit of difference between £120 and 12p

Meepster

Laz123 wrote: »

I'm sorry to contradict this misconception but I was in retail advertising for over two decades and a retailer had to sell an item at the advertised price by law. Somewhere down the line the law has changed.

Misconception? I think you'll find a retailer has always had the right to refuse to sell anything to anyone, no matter what the price. It's called "business"...

unholyangel

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2872429.stm

see particularly the paragraph:
In a shop it's easy: the window display and shelves are what is legally called an invitation to treat, and no binding contract exists until you offer to pay and your offer is accepted.

Jakg

Laz123 wrote: »

I'm sorry to contradict this misconception but I was in retail advertising for over two decades and a retailer had to sell an item at the advertised price by law. Somewhere down the line the law has changed.

No, it hasn't.


Price on the shelf is an "invitation to treat", the contract is only formed when you hand them the money.

They don't have to sell at the prcie advertised, however you could report them to trading standards if they didn't correct or remove the price afterwards

stebiz

Laz123 wrote: »

I'm sorry to contradict this misconception but I was in retail advertising for over two decades and a retailer had to sell an item at the advertised price by law. Somewhere down the line the law has changed.

Sorry but this just isn't the case. As somebody has already said it is an 'invitation to treat'. No contract has taken place.