Flight refunded due to technical problem with pricing.

EllaT23

I have read the info on pricing with regards to whether the retailer has to sell at the advertised price but I am still unsure if the retailer is pulling the wool over my eyes! I purchased 2 flights to New York where the money was taken from my account and later I received a confirmation to say the flights had been booked. Three days later I received an email saying I had purchased the flights at the wrong price and that the money would be refunded and the booking cancelled. When is the contract final with purchasing flights online?

Thanks in advance

bigisi

EllaT23 wrote: »

I have read the info on pricing with regards to whether the retailer has to sell at the advertised price but I am still unsure if the retailer is pulling the wool over my eyes! I purchased 2 flights to New York where the money was taken from my account and later I received a confirmation to say the flights had been booked. Three days later I received an email saying I had purchased the flights at the wrong price and that the money would be refunded and the booking cancelled. When is the contract final with purchasing flights online?

Thanks in advance

At the point it says it is in the T&Cs you agreed to when purchasing.

shaun_from_Africa

A contract is normally binding once one party has paid the advertised price and the payment has been accepted by the other party but this can vary if the T&C'c allow for it.


However, a contract can be voided in certain circumstances, one of which is what is called a unilateral error.
This is where a mistake has been made by one party and the other party was or should have been aware of that error.
If for example, the normal average price for your flights is £500 per person and you paid £450, you might not know that a mistake has been made but if the price was advertised at only £50, it's fairly obvious that a error has occurred.


How much were your tickets when you paid and how much are they now?

Caz3121

I am assuming this was a booking via a third party ticket seller - the process is that you make a "booking request" (to purchase the flight you saw at £x price) they then confirm that they have received your request and then try to book the flights for you. Sometimes the fare is the same, other times the fare advertised may be months old.
Have you checked with your bank whether they actually took the money or whether this was just a hold that will drop off?
If you are searching for cheapest flights you need to be aware that many third parties do not have access to live pricing. To see a price you can actually purchase for, you can look on the airline's website

robatwork

Exactly as Shaun says - if you bought flights for £100 and they should have been £1000 then the company can rightly argue they made a pricing mistake. If it's £700 then you could argue that contract can't be unilaterally voided.

What was the price paid and the time/date of flight?

EllaT23

Thanks for your responses. I paid £480 and they were later asking for £580. The price has gone up again since then. The money was paid out of my account but has now been refunded.
I received 2 emails from them to confirm the booking before a third email which said they had cancelled the booking.

robatwork

EllaT23 wrote: »

Thanks for your responses. I paid £480 and they were later asking for £580. The price has gone up again since then. The money was paid out of my account but has now been refunded.
I received 2 emails from them to confirm the booking before a third email which said they had cancelled the booking.

Since that is a very reasonable price, and the contract looks like it had been fulfilled (offer, acceptance and payment taken), then I would say they are in breach of contract and you are entitled to the flight at the original price.

The question is - how far do you want to take it? As you have your money back you have notionally lost £100.

I hope you take it further - I got jaked by British Airways in a similar way and got nowhere, and it wasn't by enough to make small claims worthwhile.

I expect unholyangel will be along soon with some more formal pointers to the actual regulations.

DoaM

I agree ... it's not a clear and obvious mis-price therefore a contract was formed. (If OP was unable to cancel the contract without penalty, then neither are the seller as consumer contract terms must be fair and balanced. Whilst contract T&Cs may include E&OE; Errors & Omissions Excluded; I don't believe that E&OE applies in this case).

waamo

Just out of curiosity did you try and book the tickets directly with the airline or through a third party?

Caz3121

many third party sites do not have live pricing...the fares they advertise may have sold out months ago - you make a "booking request", they confirm your request and place a hold on the funds. Then attempt to purchase your ticket at the advertised price. If this is not possible then they either ask for more money or refund the full amount held.
Perfectly usual behaviour when don't have live pricing and why chasing for the cheapest flights via third parties often fails. (many people will state that they saw prices cheaper that buying with the airline but when they attempt to purchase they find that they end up paying the airline price or more)

robatwork

If it's a third party site the OP needs to carefully read the Ts&Cs before going 1 step further.