Paying for goods and not being told the cost to be debited

jaffy1229

I was ordered some paint over the phone. I gave them my debit card number but was not told the amount to be debited.

I should have asked, but I thought I knew roughly what it would cost, but when I saw the amount debited, it was almost 3 times what I expected.

I was just wondering if a company is legally obliged to tell you how much they intend to debit before taking a card payment?

[Deleted User]

How are you going to prove that they didn't tell you the price prior to the sale?

Why are you using telephone ordering anyhow?

All major retailers (and many small ones) have websites where you can see exactly what you are ordering and how much it will cost, as well as far better protection of your personal details..

Telephone ordering should be a thing of the past...

stuartJo1989

Here, I'll sell you some paint mate

Just PM me with your card details and I'll get it sorted out for you I'll charge your card within a few minutes.

(PS, I'll give you a 25% discount if you do it within the next 2 hours)


(in case you can't tell, I'm joking here to make a point...)

jaffy1229

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

How are you going to prove that they didn't tell you the price prior to the sale?

Why are you using telephone ordering anyhow?

All major retailers (and many small ones) have websites where you can see exactly what you are ordering and how much it will cost, as well as far better protection of your personal details..

Telephone ordering should be a thing of the past...

Its a specialist paint company, they have a website but not set up to take orders, so I ordered the product over the phone

All the calls on my mobile are automatically recorded.

[Deleted User]

jaffy1229 wrote: »

All the calls on my mobile are automatically recorded.

Nevertheless, it was your own responsibility to ask and agree to what you would be charged prior to handing over your credit card details.

unholyangel

jaffy1229 wrote: »

Its a specialist paint company, they have a website but not set up to take orders, so I ordered the product over the phone

All the calls on my mobile are automatically recorded.

Are they a trade seller or do they also sell to consumers (I'm assuming you're a consumer)?

Have you used the paint? If not, has it been delivered? If so, when?

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, retailers are obliged to provide consumers certain information before the conclusion of the contract. Part of that information includes the total price inclusive of any tax (or if the total price cannot be reasonably calculated in advance, how the price will be calculated).


So for something like paint, I'd expect to be given the total price. If it was perhaps a workman providing a service then they might not be able to calculate the price in advance and would instead tell you "it will be £100 for the parts and £50ph for labour" perhaps along with an estimate on how many hours it would take them.

[Deleted User]

unholyangel wrote: »

So for something like paint, I'd expect to be given the total price.

Yes, but likely an oversight by the retailer rather than any attempt to defraud. The customer has to take responsibility for not asking the price too.

As I said earlier, I'm constantly surprised that people still order over the 'phone so easily.

jaffy1229 wrote: »

Its a specialist paint company, they have a website

I would imagine the retailer assumed the OP already knew the price from looking at the website prior to order.

unholyangel

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Yes, but likely an oversight by the retailer rather than any attempt to defraud. The customer has to take responsibility for not asking the price too.

As I said earlier, I'm constantly surprised that people still order over the 'phone so easily.

Yes it was foolish not to ask. But without consumers like the OP, none of us would have any consumer rights so perhaps don't whip him too hard over it

However there is a legal obligation on the trader to provide the price, but there is no legal obligation on consumers to ask for the price (again, providing its a consumer purchasing from a retailer and not a b2b).

Plus, if they haven't complied with such a simple part of their obligations, chances are they didn't comply with other obligations either.

CardinalWolsey

Have you used the paint yet, OP? Was the colour specifically mixed for you, or a generically available colour from them? How long ago did you receive it? If its still in the condition you received it, not a bespoke colour mix, and you received it within the last 14 days, contact the supplier and cancel the order, and pay to return it.