Vue Cinemas - legal?

Flyboy152

I make my own popcorn and take my own drinks. A packet of popping corn costs about sixty pence from the supermarket and makes about fifteen pounds worth of popcorn and the children love making it.

Flyboy152

T_T wrote: »

Is it illegal?

No of course it isn't. They can charge you £2,000 for a bag of popcorn if they want, it is entirely within your power to decline.

A listed price is simply an 'invitation to treat'. Put simply they are listing the price that they would like to sell a particular product at, they can decide to put the price up at the point of transaction, put the price down, or even change what product is being offered at that price. Providing that they inform of this change (which they did) before the transaction then they are not in breach of any laws.

This is not a pricing issue, it is a "weights and measures" issue (for the want of a better term). The customer is being sold a "large" drink," but is getting a smaller one. Would you be happy to pay for a pint of beer and be told that you can only have a half a pint.

T_T_2

Flyboy152 wrote: »

This is not a pricing issue, it is a "weights and measures" issue (for the want of a better term). The customer is being sold a "large" drink," but is getting a smaller one. Would you be happy to pay for a pint of beer and be told that you can only have a half a pint.

The answer to your 'question' is in the text you quoted from me.

The seller can adjust any aspect of the offer PRIOR to the transaction being made, including WHAT is being offered. It might be a weights and measures issue if it was being sold as a larger drink but the OP clearly states that the seller informed them that they would be getting a smaller drink PRIOR to the transaction being made. The OP had the opportunity (and in fact took the opportunity) to walk away from the deal.

If you look through the Weights and Measures act 1985 and more recently the secondary legislation W&M Packaged Goods Regulations 2006 you will see there are requirements that the outer packaging must accurately state what it contains. In the case of this seller, they were using a smaller cup (after notifiying the OP) and the cup itself would have detailed what measurement it contained (either as ml or Oz) so there could have been no doubt on the consumer's part as to what they were buying.

fluffnutter

T_T wrote: »

They can charge you £2,000 for a bag of popcorn if they want

And regularly do.

T_T_2

fluffnutter wrote: »

And regularly do.

It's when they ask you to sign something with 'Credit Check' written on the top that you start to worry that your trip to the cinema is about to get expensive

Idiophreak

T_T wrote: »

The answer to your 'question' is in the text you quoted from me.

The seller can adjust any aspect of the offer PRIOR to the transaction being made, including WHAT is being offered. It might be a weights and measures issue if it was being sold as a larger drink but the OP clearly states that the seller informed them that they would be getting a smaller drink PRIOR to the transaction being made. The OP had the opportunity (and in fact took the opportunity) to walk away from the deal.

I didn't have the opportunity to purchase the deal as advertised three feet above the guy's head, though?

There was no (sensible) reason that they could not provide me with a large serving of sprite, or whatever, as advertised - so in fact, they offered (in advert), I accepted, and they refused to complete the deal. It's been a long time since I did my contract law courses, so I'm sure you're right, but it just feels fishy to me.

T_T_2

Idiophreak wrote: »

I didn't have the opportunity to purchase the deal as advertised three feet above the guy's head, though?

There was no (sensible) reason that they could not provide me with a large serving of sprite, or whatever, as advertised - so in fact, they offered (in advert), I accepted, and they refused to complete the deal. It's been a long time since I did my contract law courses, so I'm sure you're right, but it just feels fishy to me.

As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, the seller was not obliged to provide you with the advertised deal. They simply aren't obliged to.

Providing that they are not refusing to serve you on grounds of discrimination they can refuse to serve you any advertised deal for whatever reason.

By displaying a certain product at a certain price they are simply making an 'invitation to treat'. The keyword being invitation. Providing that they haven't taken your money they can adapt the deal or withdraw it entirely at their own discretion. Consumers do not have the 'right' to buy anything they want, a contract is a two way street that requires the agreement of both parties.

Norfolk_Jim

Hot dogs do not really contain those unmentionables put forward already but the "meat" content is mechanically recovered in a process that does not look too pretty. Basically the carcasses (pork & Chicken mainly) left over after the cuts of meat have been removed, are pressed through what is effectively a sieve under pressure. The bones are ejected to one side and the gloop the passes through is the filler for your hot dog, plus some other ingredients. It looks like pink blancmange and reminds me of the Blob from the old horror movie.
I think you can see the process on you tube, it certainly has been featured on discovery channels "How do they do it".

Idiophreak

T_T wrote: »

Providing that they are not refusing to serve you on grounds of discrimination they can refuse to serve you any advertised deal for whatever reason.

So, there's nothing to stop Joe Bloggs from running a TV ad saying "come down to Joe Bloggs today, all burgers are 99p!" then charging £5 a pop for burgers once people get there?

jess1974

fluffnutter wrote: »

Once I was in a Vue cinema and it was so hot I thought I was going to burst into flames. Everyone around me was dying, fanning themselves, gasping for water, writing wills, etc.

I crawled out and asked the 'staff member' (12 year old) if the heating could be turned down. 'No,' she said 'it's controlled from London. We can't change it. We know it's set a bit high because people have been leaving but there's nothing we can do'. !!!!!!??

Thanks for this, i'm feeling a bit down today and this post has made me laugh and really cheered me up xx