Debenhams Dilema

claire1011

Hi everyone.
On 25th November I placed an order with debenhams online for an item that was on sale. i then recieved an order confirmation and thought all was well. Today i have recieved an email stating the order was put onto'backorder' followed by an email stating that the order 'cannot be fullfilled'. The itrm ordered is now showing on the debenhams websitr as in stock but at the original pre sale price. At the momebt nothing is showong up on my bank account to say payment has been taken or refunded. Im about to call them and give them a piece of my mind but can anyone tell me legal rights before i do???!!
many thanks
Claire1011.

InsideInsurance

You need to read their terms and conditions as to when the contract is formed. With online retailers this is typically stated as when the goods are dispatched. If this is the case then they are free to withdraw from the agreement until they have sent the goods.

2.5 Unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it, order acceptance and the creation of the contract between you and us will take place at the point the products you have ordered are despatched from our warehouse to be delivered to the address you have given us. It does not take place until that stage, even though we may have debited your card (see 2.3 above) or we have sent acknowledging emails (see 2.4 above). Very occasionally an error may occur resulting in the products described on our website not being the products actually available for sale. If this occurs your order will not be or have been accepted.

claire1011

Thanks InsideInsurance. Yes as you say it says in the small print that it is not a confirmation of order - even though the subject of the email reads 'Debenhams Confirmation *order number*'. Is it not still worth a phone call though. Im sick and tired of ordering from them and items arrive late or damaged or with parts missing. Its not good enough. And ti find that they have the ordered item currently in stock. im fuming!

Hintza

claire1011 wrote: »

Im sick and tired of ordering from them and items arrive late or damaged or with parts missing. Its not good enough. And ti find that they have the ordered item currently in stock. im fuming!

So call them up and tell them that you are not happy and that you have spent £xxx over the last so many years and that unless they do something it will be the last order you give them.

Don't moan, do something, there are plenty of retailers only to glad for your business.

Play messed me around a few years ago and I have never been back. Tesco annoyed me and we don't shop there now (well the missus breaks the embargo at times :mad:) and from their figures I am not the only one.

Squoozy

The same thing has happened to me with a dressing gown I ordered, and the annoying thing is that I could have gone to the store yesterday whilst the sale was still on and picked one up myself.

I am a goldcard holder, and this has happened to me a few times with Debenhams. I have written to their customer services department in the past, and they usually send a voucher for £10 when a complaint is made. This is all well and good, but the issue I have is not getting compensation, but them sorting out their systems so that they don't 'sell' stock online that they don't have. Its obvious to me that this is going to cause upset to customers, and they just don't get it.

I'm very tempted this time to send my card back and not shop there again, but the sad thing I quite like shopping in Debenhams and its the only department store for miles near me.

unholyangel

claire1011 wrote: »

Thanks InsideInsurance. Yes as you say it says in the small print that it is not a confirmation of order - even though the subject of the email reads 'Debenhams Confirmation *order number*'. Is it not still worth a phone call though. Im sick and tired of ordering from them and items arrive late or damaged or with parts missing. Its not good enough. And ti find that they have the ordered item currently in stock. im fuming!

You misunderstand.

Order confirmation and order acceptance are not necessarily the same thing. Order confirmation is exactly that, confirmation of your order/that they have received your order.

For a contract to exist, there needs to have been acceptance.

Annoying perhaps, but usually ordering processes are automated up until dispatch (where a person then picks/packs your order) and that's why most pricing errors are cancelled at this point/not accepted until that point.

InsideInsurance

claire1011 wrote: »

Is it not still worth a phone call though.

The comments are what your rights are, which is basically none. Obviously some companies go beyond what they are legally required to do in the name of good customer service.

I dont shop at Debenhams so cannot comment on what they are like for CS but ultimately, find a free or cheap telephone number and you have little to lose just dont demand anything as you're looking for goodwill

unholyangel

InsideInsurance wrote: »

The comments are what your rights are, which is basically none. Obviously some companies go beyond what they are legally required to do in the name of good customer service.

I dont shop at Debenhams so cannot comment on what they are like for CS but ultimately, find a free or cheap telephone number and you have little to lose just dont demand anything as you're looking for goodwill

In the essence of true MSE'ing......OP this is a useful site to keep bookmarked for those companies who have 0845/0870 etc numbers. They will usually always have a landline alternative and sometimes also have a Freephone number (depending on the company in question).

www.saynoto0870.com

bris

It's all about "offer and acceptance" it's one thing to make an order and even pay for it (as this is automated by the system) but it is another for them to actually accept your offer.

In this case your offer has been rejected so your rights are to be put back into the position you were before the offer, in your case you may not have even paid for anything so you are no worse off.

bebewoo

Debenhams are always like this, I don't bother ordering online with them now as half the stuff never arrives.
They should really sort their act out with the stock management.