Wrong (better) item received from that ordered - what's the legal position?

loobytoo

Thanks all for your input. And yes, i did mean it was dishonest to sell something that is out of stock but tell a buyer it's on its way to them.

The issue has been resolved now. There was a mixup at their end and my bike had been sent to someone else. The live chat person i was dealing with was just a bit useless and made me angry this morning.

So i won't be getting an electric bike but (hopefully) will get the one i ordered. And hopefully I'll get a few good karma credits too.

Murphybear

Sandtree said:

Undervalued said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Undervalued said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

loobytoo said:

I ordered a bike from an online bike retailer. The company sent me an email saying it was being built. Then another saying it had been dispatched.
Then i received the parcel but it was not the bike I'd ordered. It was a much better bike.

I contacted the company straight away and they said it had been sent in mistake and would send a courier to collect it. 
I asked when the one i ordered wouldnbe delivered and they said it was out of stock.
So basically, they sold me a bike that they dont have.

This dishonesty has really annoyed me - particularly when i was honest with them about the wrong bike delivery.

What's the legal situation here? Am i entitled to keep the bike that was delivered without paying any more for it?

Firstly, they haven't been dishonest, they've made a mistake.  Secondly, you don't get credit or extra rights for being honest yourself - it's a minimum expectation.  Had you kept quiet and used the bike, and the retailer subsequently realised their mistake, you'd probably face a bit of hassle unwinding it all.

And no, legally, you're not entitled to keep the bike they sent unless the retailer gives you permission to do so.  It's a well-trotted-out response to these situations, but I'll ask anyway: If they'd sent a bike of lesser value by mistake, and you didn't notice for a while, would you be happy or would you expect a partial refund or exchange for the bike you paid for?

To be fair I think the OP was meaning that they considered it dishonest of the retailer to take their money for an item that was out of stock when they said "So basically, they sold me a bike that they dont have".

Possibly, but it's also possible it was in stock when ordered, but subsequently became out of stock by the time OP had received the wrong bike and contacted them.  Even if it was out of stock, I wouldn't say they'd been dishonest.  It's simply a mistake.  If they had dishonest intentions, I don't think they'd send out a more expensive bike, they'd just send an inferior one or not send one at all.

I certainly agree with your first sentence. However if they took the money knowing it was not in stock then in my view that is morally dishonest at least!

Well, the emphasised word is very relevant but it also depends what they stated the position was at the time of sale. 

Other than AO, no one in the UK holds stock of Miele large appliances and that includes Miele UK themselves... some do show a stock status but that is Miele Germany's position. Plenty of other items are effectively drop shipped or ordered on request rather than being held in stock.

Given the mix up there are plenty of scenarios where they didnt knowingly make a sale that they couldnt fulfil, which is possibly slightly more relevant than if its "in stock" and where such stock is.

Interesting.  We bought a full height fridge, full height freezer, small freezer, dishwasher and washer-dryer from a small local Miele stockist.  They delivered it less than a week as they had plenty of stock.  Plus, and I have never come across the following before, they said they didn’t need cash up front, they would invoice us at the end of the month.  

The service we received made us feel like we were in a time warp (good thing).  They also gave us a very good price as we’d bought a lot of items.  This was in very rural Devon if that makes a difference