Goods already paid for????

stonites999

On sunday whilst on holiday i visited a furniture shop and saw lovely bench for my garden. I noticed the bench was priced at £169.00 and thought it was a really good price, so i decided to buy it. the only problem was i could not get it in the car so i said i'd return to collect it in a few weeks time. The shop staff said that was fine as they have a big warehouse and they could store it for as long as needed free of charge...So i paid for it in full and have the reciepts and paperwork to show for it.

I have today returned from work to find a letter from the shop explaining that they had made a huge error and the item had been wrongly priced and should have infact been £1069.00.

They state they have spoken to Trading standards who have advised them to write to me. They have offered me a 25% discount on the true price.

I'm not sure where i stand???? I feel that the bench is now mine anyway as i have paid the asking price as marked and have the necessary paperwork to show for it??? Can anybody advise how i stand?? I think they may refuse to hand it over to me....

Thanks Anthony

BlueAngelCV

I think that as they've already sold it to you it is now yours so it is basically their problem. If they refuse to hand it over it seems to me that that would be theft.
However I'm sure that someone more knowledgable than me will me along shortly.

On a sidenote who on earth would pay £1,069.00 for a garden bench?! £169.00 seems a lot to me!

pulliptears

BlueAngelCV wrote: »

On a sidenote who on earth would pay £1,069.00 for a garden bench?! £169.00 seems a lot to me!

I looked at some a few weeks ago in a local garden centre that were gorgeous, they were carved out of the most beautiful stone and were about £2k

I guess if I were rich I'd buy one lol

marleyboy

Its my guess you have heard NOTHING from Trading Standards, it might be worth giving them a call asking them about this supposed letter they got AND the reply they sent. You bought it in good faith, had you got it in the car, its pretty unlikely they would turn up at your door saying "ermm we priced it wrong", the moment they took your cash and gave you the reciept, technically they sold you the item, they are welcome to buy it back from you at 25% discount of the new price if they want to

maninthestreet

So what is SO special about this bench that it costs £1069??

adam.mt

The following thread might be useful: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2538805

The consensus was that you're entitled to the goods if bought in person and to be delivered later, just so long as they have the goods in stock and it wasn't an obvious misprice (although given the price difference here they might be able to argue that).

bingo_bango

I think this would fall into the category of a classic mistake by the trader. They cannot simply claim that it is a mistake however, and say that you can't have it. To successfully argue such an issue, they would need the backing of a court.

As it stands, you are the proud owner of a patio set which you paid £169.00 for. You have title to the goods, and are therefore entitled to quiet possession.

The problem as I see it is the fact that this company actually have the physical goods, and as you point out, it is likely that they will 'refuse' to hand them over to you. If that happens, what will you do? You will have two options as I see it.

1. If they refuse to hand over the goods then you could seek a court order for specific performance. You would of course seek the costs of doing so also.

2. You can get a refund. I don't think the trader will argue with you on that score, but you may have an option to consider suing for loss of bargain. That's not very easy to do, and I wouldn't hold out much hope of a positive result.

You need to think about what you want to do. Do you want to expend a lot of your tim and some expense fighting this, or do you want to accept that they've made a mistake (quite a costly one in the current economic climate too!) and let them off the hook?

loopylou121

That sounds like good advice to me. Is it worth the fight?

somethingcorporate

Specific performance would very unlikely be upheld by the court given damages would be a more than adequate and a suitable remedy. In this case you'd likely get your money back.

Specific performance is generally only given for land, where by the item in question is "unique". A garden bench is unlikely to be construed as such.

pulliptears

loopylou121 wrote: »

That sounds like good advice to me. Is it worth the fight?

for a grands worth of furniture? Hell yes!

adam.mt

Go into store with the invoice and payment receipt and see if you can pick up the goods. If they are unwilling to hand them over then settle for a refund and move on. The fight isn't worth it in my opinion, since it won't be an easy win. The bench wasn't a unique one off was it? Just consider it a bargain missed and one of those things (I've had similar happen to me).