Very.co.uk - where do I stand?

suziemaclondon

I'll try to keep this brief!

I placed two orders via the Very.co.uk website on 10/2/13. Both orders contained the same item, just in different colours. These items were in the sale, reduced from £25.00 to £7.50. The expected delivery date for both orders was given as 18/2/13.

On 12/2/13, I noticed that the item was still discounted and still available in my size. I therefore placed an additional (third) order. Estimated delivery 19/2/13.

Very have now informed me that none of the three orders can be fullfilled. Apparently the supplier has run out of 'specially allocated sale stock' even though I was able to place orders 48-hours apart. They are still selling the item in the colour/size I ordered, but it's back up to full price.

I realise that I have not entered into a 'contract' with them until the items are actually sent, but surely there is a strong case for the fair-trading implications? Any advice would be appreciated.

I paid for orders one and two with a Very giftcard and order three was applied to my Very credit account.

Thank you!

unholyangel

By fair trading etc you mean misleading? They'll likely claim circumstances beyond their control/overwhelming demand.

What exactly are you expecting as an outcome?

No other way to say this so.....even if the circumstances were not outside of their control and they were fully aware that they would not be able to complete the orders, it may earn them a slap on the wrist.....but it still wont entitle you to the items at the discounted price. No contract exists until they've sent the items so by all intents and purposes there is nothing to legally bind them since anyone is free to choose who they do business with and on what terms.

Jinks

I'm not sure about this. If they have the item in stock, aren't they required to sell it at at the price advertised? For example, if I pick up an item in a shop which has a £7.50 price tag and take it to the counter to buy it, and they scan it and it comes up at £25, they still have to sell it to me for £7.50, because that's the price they were advertising. They can't say "sorry, we can't sell it to you because we got the price on the tag wrong". If the price has changed and they haven't updated the price tag, it's their mistake. It would be a different issue if they had actually run out of stock of the item, but they didn't - by the sound of it, they just didn't change the price in time when their offer ended.

The downside to this is that because it was an online order there isn't any way you can prove that was the case the way you can in a face-to-face transaction, and if they have refunded you and refused to sell you the item I don't think there's anything you can do about that.

unholyangel

Jinks wrote: »

I'm not sure about this. If they have the item in stock, aren't they required to sell it at at the price advertised? For example, if I pick up an item in a shop which has a £7.50 price tag and take it to the counter to buy it, and they scan it and it comes up at £25, they still have to sell it to me for £7.50, because that's the price they were advertising. They can't say "sorry, we can't sell it to you because we got the price on the tag wrong". If the price has changed and they haven't updated the price tag, it's their mistake. It would be a different issue if they had actually run out of stock of the item, but they didn't - by the sound of it, they just didn't change the price in time when their offer ended.

The downside to this is that because it was an online order there isn't any way you can prove that was the case the way you can in a face-to-face transaction, and if they have refunded you and refused to sell you the item I don't think there's anything you can do about that.

No. Its called invitation to treat. Try reading the stickies on the top of the forum board. Specifically - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3277262

bajangal

Jinks wrote: »

I'm not sure about this. If they have the item in stock, aren't they required to sell it at at the price advertised? For example, if I pick up an item in a shop which has a £7.50 price tag and take it to the counter to buy it, and they scan it and it comes up at £25, they still have to sell it to me for £7.50, because that's the price they were advertising. They can't say "sorry, we can't sell it to you because we got the price on the tag wrong". If the price has changed and they haven't updated the price tag, it's their mistake. It would be a different issue if they had actually run out of stock of the item, but they didn't - by the sound of it, they just didn't change the price in time when their offer ended.

The downside to this is that because it was an online order there isn't any way you can prove that was the case the way you can in a face-to-face transaction, and if they have refunded you and refused to sell you the item I don't think there's anything you can do about that.

No they don't. They don't have to sell you the product if it is scanned at a lower price, although some shops (mainly large retailers) relent.

suziemaclondon

Thanks for your knowledge/opinions, I appreciate it

melbell

SDG upto their tricks again.

What happens is, Theyve got alot of product from Supplier A costing them £2.40 per unit. Supplier B comes along and states they can do for £1.90 a unit.

SDG will swop suppliers and all exisisting stock from Supplier A will be sold off at a reduced price then when they run out, it returns to normal price but supplied from Supplier B

its legal sadly. It happens alot espc. on furniture and own brand clothing like South

terra_ferma

It sounds like they have made a mistake when then entered the number of items available on sale in their system. Unless the system doesn't let them set a max quantity for a sale, just the date when it's effective.
Mistakes can happen, but if this happens regularly they should ensure their system allows them to set a maximum quantity for sales items (or use a different SKU if they can't). If this does and they don't, it would show that customer satisfaction is low priority.

But I have to say that I've seen quite a few posts here about this company, that owns very, littlewoods etc,, where customer service wasn't great.