Illegal cancellation?

Tom59

I saw a computer monitor priced at £118 on Tesco Direct website. I searched the internet and found that this was a very good price, so I ordered and paid by credit card on the spot.
I received an e.mail confirming my order and my payment.
This morning I checked the website for some technical details on the monitor and saw that the price had been raised to £163.
This evening, I received an e.mail saying that my order was cancelled and that I would receive a full refund.
I rang the helpline and was told that the item was out of stock at the suppliers so the order could not be fulfilled. I asked the operator why the item is still on sale, if there is no stock available. He told me that when there is no stock available, the web site will not allow you to complete a purchase. I told him that since the website had allowed me to complete the purchase 24 hours earlier, there must have been enough stock available at that time to fulfill my order.
I asked him to keep my money and put the item on back order, sending it out when it next becomes available, but he told me that their system does not allow that.
I feel that I have been conned and that Tesco have made a sale to me that they do not wish to honour.
Is it worth my while taking this up with Trading Standards and or my credit card supplier?

pcombo

They dont need to honour orders with a pirce is entered wrong.

There in the right.

scheming_gypsy

If they'd dispatched it - yep, but as they haven't they're legally entitled to retract the offer

George_Michael

Their terms are in line with just about every retailer on the internet.
http://direct.tesco.com/help/directtermsandconditions.aspx

Your order is an offer to buy from us. Nothing that we do or say will amount to any acceptance of that offer until we actually despatch an item to you, at which point a contract will be made between us. At any point up until then we may decline to supply an item to you. If we decline to supply an item to you and you have already paid for it, we will give you a full refund of any amount already paid for that item in accordance with our refund policy in section 7 below.

If, by mistake, we have under priced an item, we will not be liable to supply that item to you at the stated price, provided that we notify you before we despatch the item to you. In those circumstances, we will notify the correct price to you so you can decide whether or not you wish to order the item at that price. If you decide not to order the item, we will give you a full refund on any amount already paid for that item in accordance with our refund policy in section 7 below.

shaun_from_Africa

Asking the same question after it's already been answered by people on a different board still won't get you the answer that you want to read especially when you already appear to have checked their terms and conditions.

So anyway, their T&C state that they reserve the right to change prices, and can cancel at any time until the item is despatched, regardless of whether they have taken payment or not.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3470045

arcon5

I don't know why these companies can't just be straight 'sorry madam, the price was wrong, we have cancelled your order, feel free to order at the higher price. Have a nice day.'

Pick your dummy back up op, the earth is still spinning so nothing to worry about.

Tom59

Having now read the terms and conditions. I can see where they have said that they do not need to honour any agreement until the item is dispatched.
I also see the bit that says that if an item is out of stock, it will be clearly marked on the web site.
Why did the Tesco rep feel that he had to give me a story about being out of stock?
Not only have they conned me but they are lying about it too.

scheming_gypsy

Because the Tesco rep only has limited information to go off; he doesn't make the rules and he's not sitting in a warehouse with all the stock. Just because he wasn't telling you the truth it doesn't mean he's lying, it can mean he's telling you what he believes to be correct on the information he has

Tom59

Totally agree with you. I told the rep on the phone that he is only doing what he is told. I said "I am not talking about you, I am talking about Tesco".

scheming_gypsy

A lot of people wouldn't be as understanding, and that'll be another reason why they might lie. They're not paid enough to deal with people ranting at them because they think something else happen, so it's easier to stick with a 'safe' explanation

Tom59

I can imagine me in his position. If my employer was asking me to "Say untruths" I would be so stressed out that I would leave. I work for a company that supplies Tesco. We have been sent a sheet of photos of auditors who can turn up at any time demanding whatever they like. so they not only screw their cuastomers, they screw their suppliers as well. Win - Win or what? They are far too powerful.