Gaming pre-order

chrome95

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone could help me on where I stand in the following scenario.

I pre-ordered a product from a reputable online video games store and paid for the product with a credit card.

A few hours later, I received an email saying that my pre-order had been deleted as the store claimed they were no longer able to obtain the product from their suppliers.

I then went on holiday for a week and didn't bother checking if I had been refunded, it turns out I hadn't been refunded and my bank had charged me for missing my payment date. (This was my fault for not checking)

So after coming back, I emailed the store about this situation and they then refunded me immediately but would not refund my bank charge, which is understandable. (I did not ask for a refund)

I was wondering where I stand in this.

If I'm not mistaken, refund/rescission of a contract should not occur immediately.
The supplier claimed they are no longer able to obtain the product, the product is being released around October, what if they manage to obtain the product by then? I'm sure they will have no trouble obtaining the product, they are a large online video game store. Should my pre-order be made active again?

I've tried to be as clear as possible, but if there are any gaps of info, let me know and I'll try to give more detail.

Thanks in advance.

bluenoseam

They may have trouble obtaining the product - it's not uncommon for things like special editions of video games to be retailer exclusive. In recent times for example Amazon had a version of Batman that was exclusive which Game would not have been able to stock. Similarly Game have had the exclusive rights to the big version of CoD & Fallout 4's pip boy, meaning no other stores can stock them.

Problem comes from this part - say Game have the exclusive of game X's special edition & they see Amazon offering to preorder it, Game then go to the publisher & complain. The publisher then has the right to correct the situation as well as use any means at their disposal to ensure the same doesn't happen again. Now it doesn't matter how big you are, if say Activision or EA are miffed with you, you've got yourself a problem. When Game were having financial difficulties a few years ago, EA for example simply refused to allow companies to stock Game with new release titles.

Might sound petty, but if I'm a retailer and I've secured the exclusive rights to retail something I will threaten to sue & if I'm a major player in the market I can have an impact on sales performance. So publishers are generally happy to keep their major partners onside.

From where I'm looking at it, you preordered a product in good faith, the retailer informed you that they're unable to source the product & refunded you the preorder. From there it's the question of reasonable vs unreasonable - if it's been 7-10 days then that FOR ME is reasonable & not out of the ordinary. Please note that's what I would see, other people may see it as unreasonable, it merely means I'm a little more forgiving in that situation. However if you're asking "should my preorder be made active again?" then it's a no - how the heck do you expect them to sell you something they've previously told you they cannot source stock of?

chrome95

Thanks for the in-depth response.

I should have mentioned the the product is not a a game but rather the xbox one elite controller.

I have seen in the past that hardware has been exclusive to certain retailers, but I have already seen this for pre-order at gamestop, game, amazon and the microsoft store. This leads me to believe that the product will not be exclusive to certain retailers.

I must add that the price I paid was lower than the prices on the sites listed above. Do you think it is possible that this is the reason for them claiming that they are 'no longer to obtain the product'?

unholyangel

If you check the T&C's, you'll likely find (as with most online retailers) that a contract is not formed until dispatch. If thats the case, there's no contract between the two of you.

You effectively made an offer of £x in exchange for an xbox controller and they have rejected your offer.

bluenoseam

chrome95 wrote: »

I must add that the price I paid was lower than the prices on the sites listed above. Do you think it is possible that this is the reason for them claiming that they are 'no longer to obtain the product'?

That will be, especially with that particular product, if it's significantly cheaper there's a fair chance Microsoft have told them to cut it out or they won't supply them. None of the reputable retailers round here have stopped taking preorders far as I know & they're all promoting it at the same price.