[CLOSED] Samsung 28'' Pure Flat Widescreen With Integrated Freeview TV + Cabinet £33

ROCKINGHAM

The email was from Trading Standards - amit_1 made a mistake - but he didn't take anyone's money!!!!

betterbargains4u

Has anyone heard back from Watchdog yet?
Also...I am very curious....how are you lot getting smilies into the main body of your posts??

criminal_smile

The following link http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20022013.htm is to a set of regulations which came into force on 23.10.02. They are specifically designed to regulate the sale of goods where the method of purchase is electronic. In essence, these regulations state that any company using this method to sell their goods, must have in place a mechanism whereby they can check stock availability and prices, and must then send a confirmation e-mail, confirming that the items are indeed available and will be dispatched.
Prior to this rule, the old argument used by a company was that a pricing error was a 'legally operative mistake'. This, in essence, was a get out clause for those who did advertise the wrong price. This rule allowed them to declare the contract null and void. This would still work today for contracts not sold by electronic means.
What these new(ish) regulations mean is that the company concluding the contract cannot argue 'legally operative mistake'.
If you have been affected by the current 'mistake' Ebuyer have made, you should contact your local Trading Standards Service (get their number here http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk ), and ask them to look at your case using these regulations. There is no guarantee that they will work, but if enough people try this, it could open a huge can of worms for all those E-tailers out there.

shropslad

Maybe this has already been mentioned, apologies if it has, but here goes anyway. Trading Standards have rung me this morning and basically informed me that I should write a letter to Ebuyer telling them that they have broken their contract with me, as they have sent emails confirming the order and that funds have been debited from my credit card. Trading Standards also informed me that if they do not supply the tv then I could buy the tv elsewhere and then go to court claiming the difference in price as a 'Loss of bargain'. Trading Standards did agree with me that Ebuyer had broken their T & C's. So I will follow their advice and send the letter off today.

shrek101

criminal_smile that hmso link doesnt work mate, page cannot be found.

criminal_smile

Cheers Shrek...should be sorted now.

criminal_smile

shropslad wrote:

I find that post from Amit_1 very interesting. Why would Trading Standards write regarding correspondence they have had with EBuyer. Surely that would breach their confidentiality policy.

Valid question Shropslad. However, with the express permission of the interested parties, the other party involved can be made aware of any details of the complainant or trader's responses to Trading Standards. Both sides in a dispute need to be aware of what is happening and why. Otherwise, some of these problems would never get solved. This does not contravene The Data Protection Act.

ROCKINGHAM

Re Trading Standards Advice to shropslad - Anyone willing to compose such a letter here with all the valid arguments - so we can all copy and paste to send off to ebuyer.

blueghost

ROCKINGHAM wrote:

Re Trading Standards Advice to shropslad - Anyone willing to compose such a letter here with all the valid arguments - so we can all copy and paste to send off to ebuyer.

checklist:

1. a contract was formed - see term 1.2 + 1.3 for definitions of a contract being formed.

2. excuse of being a price mistake - term 2.3 quotes every effort is made... - for such a massive price difference it is apparent little or no effort is made. Also term 2.3 says we are given the option to reconfirm or cancel - we were given neither option. ebuyer quote: "It was obvious to all concerned that the figure given was incorrect." - why was it on the web then?

just my two points.

i haven't the time for the next few days to write a letter due to uni work, but will be doing something about it on thursday/friday.

ROCKINGHAM

Thanks - I ain't being lazy but I am at work so can only flit back and forth to the thread. Also thought it might be more effective if we all had the same letter - just like Watchdog!