Play.com 'playing' dirty...

j-lo1972uk

I've looked round the site but can't find anything that pertains to my query, therefore am posting here...

I ordered a boxset of books from Play.com on 31/03/12 priced at £19.99. The order went through fine and I got a message telling me that I would recieve an email advising me of my delivery.

Cut to 6 days later, no delivery and no email. On going onto Play and looking at my account, it states I have 'no outstanding orders' and on checking the order status of the boxset, it states 'cancelled'. No explanation, no email why...

I go to re-order the boxset and it has increased in price to £32.99!! I emailed them to enquire whether my order was cancelled because they wanted to sell at a higher price- no reply.

Am I covered by any consumer rights or regulations? Or do I have to just suck it up? Many thanks.

Fergie76

You must have missed this sticky then?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3277262

Although it is pretty bad customer service to not inform you.

arcon5

Simple pricing error rectified before contract formed. No rights i'm afraid.

Still doesn't excuse the shoddy service, at the very least they could have sent an email.

Padz_2

I don't like Play I've always suspected that they listed things they didn't actually have for sale.

My evidence. A certain PS2 video game sequel a few years back was banned by the BBFC. Play listed it as being for sale on their site. I didn't order because I knew it couldn't possibly be for sale. Never trusted them since and there have been many threads on here which reinforced my decision.

They probably listed it at a good price to hook people in then when they've got you wanting it they put the price up.

unholyangel

Padz wrote: »

I don't like Play I've always suspected that they listed things they didn't actually have for sale.

My evidence. A certain PS2 video game sequel a few years back was banned by the BBFC. Play listed it as being for sale on their site. I didn't order because I knew it couldn't possibly be for sale. Never trusted them since and there have been many threads on here which reinforced my decision.

They probably listed it at a good price to hook people in then when they've got you wanting it they put the price up.

Jersey is not part of the UK, it is not governed by UK law. Not that I'm saying they're a brilliant company or anything, just pointing out the flaw in your "evidence".

Googlewhacker

Fergie76 wrote: »

You must have missed this sticky then?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3277262

Although it is pretty bad customer service to not inform you.

Amazing how many people do miss it

real1314

That FAQ is hardly definitive.

e.g " internet shops can to refuse to honour prices even after they have taken your money"

Erm, so on that basis, there is no contract even though they have accepted payment?

So when would the contract be formed?
Would it have equal balance for both parties?
How would a consumer know that their contract has been formed?

It's easy to blithely point to a sticky, but if the sticky isn't very well formed, it's just a cop out.

So, OP - did they take payment? What do their ordering terms say about the order being agreed? :cool:

bod1467

The crux is whether or not the retailer states in their T&Cs the point at which a contract is formed. If they don't make any such reference then taking payment can be deemed acceptance of the contract. (As I understand things).

In this case I'm sure Play have this all tied down in their T&Cs.

Googlewhacker

real1314 wrote: »

That FAQ is hardly definitive.

e.g " internet shops can to refuse to honour prices even after they have taken your money"

Erm, so on that basis, there is no contract even though they have accepted payment?

So when would the contract be formed?
Would it have equal balance for both parties?
How would a consumer know that their contract has been formed?

It's easy to blithely point to a sticky, but if the sticky isn't very well formed, it's just a cop out.

So, OP - did they take payment? What do their ordering terms say about the order being agreed? :cool:

But again if you had read the sticky you would have seen the following paragraph...

'Its a bit more difficult with online transactions because it is not always clear when a contract has been formed. In the past online retailers would accept as soon as you made a payment. However due to a few cases where shops lost money through pricing mistakes most shops now only accept your offer when they send the item out. This means even if you pay for an item, the shop has not actually accepted your offer even though they have taken your money - this means they can cancel the order. You should read the terms and conditions of the retailer to see what their stance is on pricing errors and when the contract is formed.'