Quoted £0 yet charged £30/month

sabeckett

Hi. Weird one. I was quoted on EE’s website for an “add to plan” accessory. It was quoted as £0 (probably an error on their website) as it was back to “normal” the next day. I saw the £0 and took the opportunity and added the accessory to my phone plan (11mo).

Question is; do I have to pay the £30/month (11mo) or do EE have to give me the accessory at £0 as that was the price at the point of “sale”? 

callum5

What accessory was it for £30 per month for 11 months?

sabeckett

“Accessory” was a Nintendo Switch, which they delivered the next day. 

If quoted £0 do they have to “sell” for £0?

[Deleted User]

They don't have to give it to you for free, that is a common misconception.
At the same time if you were misled over the price then return it

pphillips

I believe they cannot advertise something for free and then charge the unknowing customer £30 per month, that's no basis for a binding contract. If they say there was a technical glitch and they never intended to sell it for nothing, then I suppose they could require a customer to return it free of charge.

searchlight123

sabeckett said:

“Accessory” was a Nintendo Switch, which they delivered the next day. 

If quoted £0 do they have to “sell” for £0?

Do you have a screenshot showing it listed at £0?
Even if you do it will only assist you in returning it and cancelling the 'contract' as you were misled. it will not entitle you to keep it free of charge even if the error is their fault unfortunately.

sabeckett

tonygold said:

sabeckett said:

“Accessory” was a Nintendo Switch, which they delivered the next day. 

If quoted £0 do they have to “sell” for £0?

Do you have a screenshot showing it listed at £0?
Even if you do it will only assist you in returning it and cancelling the 'contract' as you were misled. it will not entitle you to keep it free of charge even if the error is their fault unfortunately.

Yes I do have a screenshot of the order page and the confirmation page stating £0.
Ultimately, it is clearly an error on their part but just wondered where I/they stood legally, although I will contact them regarding it and if they refund me some or all of it then it is win win! 

stragglebod

Refund you? You mean they've charged you £30? They have no right to do that.

Mobile phone companies often sell bundles and quote £0.00 for some of the items, as it's the total price that matters, so if you were taking out a new contract at the time then it wouldn't necessarily be a clear error if you were quoted £0.00 for something.

sabeckett

stragglebod said:

Refund you? You mean they've charged you £30? They have no right to do that.

Mobile phone companies often sell bundles and quote £0.00 for some of the items, as it's the total price that matters, so if you were taking out a new contract at the time then it wouldn't necessarily be a clear error if you were quoted £0.00 for something.

No they have a system online called "add to plan" which means you can add "accessories" to your phone plan and pay for it over 11 months. Essentially what has happened is they charge you the 1/12th of the price at point of sale and then the rest 11/12ths over the course of the next 11 months added to your phone bill. Assuming an error on their part they were advertising a Nintendo Switch for £0 and 11 monthly payments of £0. I have screenshots and confirmation pages for £0 after going ahead with the order.

However, they have been charging me £30/month added to my bill. Question is, who is right here, do they need to refund me the £30 x 11 they have charged me as that is not what they sold me....

DoaM

When did all this happen?
If they've charged you anything (and you're unhappy with the revised contract terms) then inform them, cancel the contract add-on and return the Switch. (Have you been using it? That's why I asked the question above).

A_Lert

Their terms will probably say that errors in pricing void the contract. So while they cannot charge you £30 a month without your agreement, you've no right to a free Switch either! You'll be expected to let them take it back, but at their expense.