Can retailers over label products wih higher prices?

browneyedbazzi

angel_islington wrote: »

I'm pretty sure they don't even have to do that. The advertised price is seen as an 'invitation to purchase'. Every now and again you get a retailer who has advertised a product at a really low price by mistake, usually online, and they rarely honour that price.

There are complicated rules about 'invitation to treat' but if retailers aren't careful about prices on display matching what things ring through the tills at they can get themselves into trouble.

In short, if when you bring something to the till they notice it has been incorrectly price labelled, they can refuse to sell it at the marked price. They should inform you of the this and tell you the correct price then you can make a decision whether to buy it or not at the correct price. If they simply ring something through the till at a different price to that on display then it's not ok!

halibut2209

Yes, well that aside in my line of thinking they would then never sell the product as they can't do so at a higher price.

Back to the multipack thing, are you saying that shops CAN sell items individually that are clearly marked "not to be sold individually"?

NoSatisfaction

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

They have to abide by the price displayed to the consumer .

Yes but they don't have to sell it to you at that price, in cases where they get the price wrong. (Invitation to treat.)

halibut2209

The question is this. If a retailer buys a multipack or whatever from a wholesaler, are they entering into a contract with the wholesaler that they will abide by the "not to be sold individually" label?

wealdroam

halibut2209 wrote: »

The question is this. If a retailer buys a multipack or whatever from a wholesaler, are they entering into a contract with the wholesaler that they will abide by the "not to be sold individually" label?

Sounds a bit like price fixing to me.

The wholesaler (or manufacturer) is not allowed to dictate prices to the retailer, and the "not to be sold individually" arrangement seems to be a quite similar trade restriction.

browneyedbazzi

halibut2209 wrote: »

The question is this. If a retailer buys a multipack or whatever from a wholesaler, are they entering into a contract with the wholesaler that they will abide by the "not to be sold individually" label?

That's about the sum of it - the issue about not selling multi pack items individually would come down to the contract between the supplier and the retailer. It's a civil dispute between the two, there's nothing illegal about selling the items separately...I explain this to several people a week lol

halibut2209

Is it price fixing? I would assume (yes, assumption is not a good thing!) that a wholesaler charges less for multipacks than individual packs with the intention that that saving goes on to the consumer, so that the consumer gets a better deal and is more likely to buy the product.

It's the same with cigarettes that are pre-priced. They are cheaper for the retailer to buy and the savings are passed on. I would expect that places like garages can purposely buy non-priced cigarettes and sell them at their extortionate rate, but are therefore charged more by the wholesaler

halibut2209

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

That's about the sum of it - the issue about not selling multi pack items individually would come down to the contract between the supplier and the retailer. It's a civil dispute between the two, there's nothing illegal about selling the items separately...I explain this to several people a week lol

So the consumer would have to complain to the wholesaler, and not the retailer?

(nice and complex lol)

browneyedbazzi

halibut2209 wrote: »

So the consumer would have to complain to the wholesaler, and not the retailer?

(nice and complex lol)

Why would you complain about it?

halibut2209

See the OP! If I wanted to buy a packet of fags pre-labelled at £5.63 and was told it was £6.03, I'd want to complain to someone!