Issue with misprice at Aldi - what are my consumer rights ?

Inigo_Montoya

Treated pretty rudely IMO at Aldi today

Bought some milk priced up at 79p on the 'SEL'

At till was charged £1

Told the cashier who quite brusquely said the correct price was £1 - next customer also decided to butt in & say £1 was the right price

At this point I thought maybe I had made a mistake so took my shopping away but then decided to recheck the 'SEL'

On rechecking SEL definately said 79p & there was no other SEL close by that could have been the 'correct' one either

Went back & had to argue it out with to 2 more people before they agreed to go look at the SEL - even then they still tried to squirm there way out of the situation by looking for a different SEL to the one next the milk I had bought - the assistant eventually grabbed the SEL, scrunched it up & chucked it on the floor saying that was the wrong price - all done in quite a rude manner to to try to make out I was in the wrong for asking for the 21p refund I might add

We then proceeded back to the till where the assistant first tried to take the milk back & refund me the £1 I paid saying they couldnt sell it for the 'incorrect' 79p price on the SEL

I then asked to speak to a manager & magically they then decided they could sell it to me for 79p & I got my hard earned 21p refund

Apart from the awful customer service I received does anybody know what my actual rights are under consumer law ?

Under law am I entitled to buy it at 79p or do the shop have the right to take it back off me after its been sold & refund me the £1 instead ?

fed_up_and_stressed

Nope they don't have to sell it you at any price ... Legal terminology is "invitation to treat"

Inigo_Montoya

Interesting - does that still apply even after I have bought the item ?

fed_up_and_stressed

A seller cannot be forced to sell an item if the sticker price is wrong as there is no formal contract in place at this point.

the sticker price on any item is technically known as an "invitation to treat" not an offer. So a seller can refuse to sell something for the label price if they discover the price is wrong.


By them "offering" the goods for £1.00 at the point of sale and you handing over payment on these terms then the contract was completed on this basis i.e £1.00.

pennyago

You agreed to pay the price charged at the till so sale completed. You complained after the sale and was told it was a pricing mistake. To be honest they refunded you 21 pence as a gesture of goodwill. If you did not want to pay £1 then you should have queried the price before the sale was made.

pennyago

If you are complaining about the rudeness and poor customer service then put your complaint in writing and forward it to their head office.

Valli

Inigo_Montoya wrote: »

Interesting - does that still apply even after I have bought the item ?

Bought at what price - the till price? £1?

This thread explains the issue in detail https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3277262

Inigo_Montoya

The only point I was informed & became aware the price was actually £1 & not 79p was when I was handed a receipt after I had paid - I was not able to dispute the price before this point

Up until that point I was under the impression they were offering the milk for 79p because that what the SEL said

However after reading thru the last link I can see that it looks like no contract was formed as the shop were actually offering the milk at £1 when I thought they were offering it at the SEL price of 79p

I wont be shopping there very much in future after they way I was treated though - I'll still go in for the occasional super six but thats about it

Sooler

fed_up_and_stressed wrote: »

By them "offering" the goods for £1.00 at the point of sale and you handing over payment on these terms then the contract was completed on this basis i.e £1.00.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31900/10-1312-pricing-practices-guidance-for-traders.pdf
"2.1.2 You should not therefore show one price in an advertisement, website,window display, shelf marking or on the item itself, and then charge a higher price at the point of sale or checkout"

redcard

Why are you wasting your life arguing about 20p?

Sounds like you enjoyed the confrontation.

VoucherMan

redcard wrote: »

Why are you wasting your life arguing about 20p?

21p

79p is the 2 pint price. Anyone who tries getting 4 pints for that price is trying it on IMO.

Many people shop at Aldi for the value. Guess you're not one of them. Your 'principles' may end up costing you a lot more than the 21p you saved.

One piece of advice. Avoid Tesco. They've been known to have many pricing errors & if you have the misfortune to visit 'customer services' they can be second to none for rudeness.