Company requiring extra money for product a year after purchase?

Mfack

We bought a freezer at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown last year and have been very happy with it. Today the company who supplied it have rung to tell us that they are currently doing their end of year accounts and that we weren’t charged enough and this has only come to light now. They are now asking for another £70. Is this acceptable practice. I don’t wish to cause the company any problems but it’s nearly a year since we bought it. Any thoughts?

davidmcn

They're legally entitled to it if you paid them too little. A year passing doesn't make a difference to that.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If the receipt said £470 and you paid £400 in error then yes they can chase the money as it is due. 

If the receipt said £400 but they now say it should have been £470 then I don't think they can.

If the fridge should have been £80 and the receipt said £10 then I believe it would be classed as an obvious mistake which can mean the contract is void. Not sure whether that means you must pay or you could instead give the fridge back if you wished to. 

kayleighali

It depends on the situation. If they mispriced the item and sold to you for £230 instead of £300 then this is their error (provided that the price was visible and agreed to at the time of sale). If they didn't collect a final payment, for example, then they are entitled to collect

unholyangel

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

If the receipt said £470 and you paid £400 in error then yes they can chase the money as it is due. 

If the receipt said £400 but they now say it should have been £470 then I don't think they can.

If the fridge should have been £80 and the receipt said £10 then I believe it would be classed as an obvious mistake which can mean the contract is void. Not sure whether that means you must pay or you could instead give the fridge back if you wished to. 

I'm possibly being awkward here, but receipt has no bearing. A receipt is something you have received, so any receipt should only ever be for the amount actually paid. An invoice might be for a different amount to the payment, but since an invoice is raised once a contract is concluded, it still has plenty of room for error. 

It all comes down to what was agreed. If you agreed to pay £100 and paid £100, tell them to do one* but if you agreed to pay £100 and only paid £30, you owe them £70. 

*There are exceptions, where contracts can be void for mistake. Such as an unilateral mistake where one party is mistaken and the other party knew or reasonably ought to have known. 

pinkshoes

What was the shop price? What did the invoice say?

If they match what you paid then they cannot ask you to pay more. 

Unless as mentioned the mistake was an obvious pricing error e.g. £5 instead of £500. You would be on very shaky ground then.

IvanOpinion

You would need to explain where the discrepancy comes from