my rights in this situation

acs_2

To save potentially getting myself into hot water, i wont mention the company involved here, but id like to know if i have any rights or if the company has anything to answer for in the following scenario that i recently experienced....

I went into my local branch of large national company (company X) to buy a particular product that is exclusive to them. It wasnt in stock and i was advised by a member of staff that it was in stock at another branch, however, there were only two in stock and that was it for the whole region (Yorkshire).

So, i used my smartphone to do a " reserve and collect " on Company X's website and off i went to said branch...

I got to the store, presented my reservation number, to be told that the item isn't in stock and they don't actually have any. So i asked why their stock levels were showing two and why i was allowed to use the reserve and collect....the response "its an error on the system"

So, after a 100 mile round trip, im on my way without said hard to come by item...


do i have grounds to complain? do any consumer rights apply to me in this instance..?

Thanks.

McKneff

Go back into the first Argos yu went into and ask in there, if you leave unsatisfied then write a letter to their head office and
explain the situation to them. You may get a voucher or something.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as for rights, I really dont know.

Flyboy152

You always have the grounds to complain about anything to anyone, but what consumer rights are you looking for?

There seems to be no indication of any contract formed with them. I am sure that Argos have a term in their conditions of business that the reservation process does not give any guarantees that the stock will be there when you collect it.

Personally, if I was traveling that far, I would find some way of ensuring the stock exists, before setting out.

If you call Argos's customer service and explain what happened, they might send you a gift voucher, for a nominal amount, to say sorry, but there is not law that will force them to.

acs_2

thanks for the replies. I can confirm that the retailer in question is NOT argos

Re flyboys comments, does the fact that i have clicked to reserve and collect ultimately mean that there is now an agreement for the seller to sell the item to me when i turn up to collect?

i dont plan on launching some major court battle here, im just interested to see what, if anything, is in it for the consumer in this situation...

Esqui

The reservation does not constitute a contract for the seller to sell you the item. They could quite easily refuse to sell it to you, even if they did have it

Flyboy152

acs wrote: »

thanks for the replies. I can confirm that the retailer in question is NOT argos

Re flyboys comments, does the fact that i have clicked to reserve and collect ultimately mean that there is now an agreement for the seller to sell the item to me when i turn up to collect?

i dont plan on launching some major court battle here, im just interested to see what, if anything, is in it for the consumer in this situation...

In a shop, the contract is not formed until you have paid for the goods. If this was a sale by distance*, depending on the terms agreed with the seller, the contract might be formed at the time you agreed to buy (usually it is on dispatch or delivery) the goods, but it is very rare. I think if you look at Argos's terms and conditions they will put a clause in that reserving does not from a contract between them and you.

* This is not a sale by distance.

scottishblondie

PC World by any chance? I did a reserve and collect with them last month and they called me the next day to tell me they didn't actually have any stock. Computer systems have the wrong data on the sometimes, it's just an unfortunate fact! And they can't sell you what they don't have - no doubt the T7Cs will say something about stock errors like this.

I do have to agree with Flyboy tho, it's always a good idea to double check before making a journey like that