Ordered online, company took payment and sent invoice but now want more money

pinkshoes

branstonpickle said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

'It is a condition of acceptance of orders that goods are invoiced at prices ruling at the date of despatch.' 

Might be reading it wrong but unfortunately I think that means acceptance occurs at dispatch?

I agree. They have invoiced at the date dispatch should have taken place so the order was accepted

No. They have just invoiced. Not dispatched. So order therefore NOT accepted unfortunately. 

Ask for a refund and order elsewhere.

visidigi

branstonpickle said:

I made an online order for an office chair for home with next day delivery. I paid immediately but nothing arrived. When I phoned they said that they couldn't sell it at that price and they were in the process of putting their prices up. I have pointed out that they took the money, invoiced me and their terms and conditions state

'It is a condition of acceptance of orders that goods are invoiced at prices ruling at the date of despatch.' 

They did invoice so that had accepted the order and there is no excuse for non-delivery. I have told them that unless they deliver the item tomorrow, I will buy from another supplier and invoice them for the difference which I believe I am entitled to do. Their reaction was to refund the payment.

Anyone have any suitable advice?

Thanks

How much was the chair? Was it an obvious pricing error? What was the cost of it you bought it for and the revised price they gave?

Is it a generic chair or a branded one which others sell which can be compared to price wise?

unholyangel

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

'It is a condition of acceptance of orders that goods are invoiced at prices ruling at the date of despatch.' 

Might be reading it wrong but unfortunately I think that means acceptance occurs at dispatch?

Such a term isn't valid. It is a fact that that terms of the acceptance must exactly match that of the offer.

Any variation is not, in fact, acceptance and instead is a counteroffer.

unholyangel

branstonpickle said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

'It is a condition of acceptance of orders that goods are invoiced at prices ruling at the date of despatch.' 

Might be reading it wrong but unfortunately I think that means acceptance occurs at dispatch?

I agree. They have invoiced at the date dispatch should have taken place so the order was accepted

The term you've posted doesn't say when acceptance takes place. Just tries to place an invalid (see my post in response to lunatic) condition upon the acceptance. 

When do the terms say a contract is formed? 

TELLIT01

Alderbank said:

They made a mistake and refunded you in full. That is what you are entitled to.

They didn't make a mistake as I read things.  Their supplier presumably increased their price after the OP had ordered and therefore they increased their price.  What they should have done is informed the customer of the price change.  To have a clause in the T&C which effectively allows them to increase the price without warning may not be enforceable.  The OP had their money back so no harm done, apart from annoyance.

unholyangel

TELLIT01 said:

Alderbank said:

They made a mistake and refunded you in full. That is what you are entitled to.

They didn't make a mistake as I read things.  Their supplier presumably increased their price after the OP had ordered and therefore they increased their price.  What they should have done is informed the customer of the price change.  To have a clause in the T&C which effectively allows them to increase the price without warning may not be enforceable.  The OP had their money back so no harm done, apart from annoyance.

Even a term allowing them to increase the price with warning wouldn't be valid. What you're thinking of is an ongoing contract. They need to give you notice so you can cancel without being adversely affected by their change. In those circumstances, they're changing the terms going forward only, not on existing services you're entitled to receive. 

What they should do is make clear there's no contract until acceptance, there's no acceptance until dispatch and that, if the price changes, they will inform the customer. At which point the customer can either reject the counteroffer or accept it. 

A company can't cancel a validly formed contract just because it becomes more difficult or expensive to perform than they had originally anticipated. That's just a bad bargain, not a bad contract. 

Ergates

unholyangel said:

What they should do is make clear there's no contract until acceptance, there's no acceptance until dispatch and that, if the price changes, they will inform the customer. At which point the customer can either reject the counteroffer or accept it. 
 

Isn't that what has happened here?

unholyangel

Ergates said:

unholyangel said:

What they should do is make clear there's no contract until acceptance, there's no acceptance until dispatch and that, if the price changes, they will inform the customer. At which point the customer can either reject the counteroffer or accept it. 
 

Isn't that what has happened here?

No, they've tried to make their acceptance conditional on the buyer agreeing to be bound by whatever price they decide is due at the time of dispatch. Basically, they're trying to make the contract binding on the buyer but not on themselves. 

As I said, the terms of the acceptance need to exactly match that of the offer. So you can't have an offer to buy at £100 and acceptance as £200. Because that's not the terms the offer was made on so there is no offer (at the £200) to accept, it doesnt exist.  

SiliconChip

unholyangel said:

TELLIT01 said:

Alderbank said:

They made a mistake and refunded you in full. That is what you are entitled to.

They didn't make a mistake as I read things.  Their supplier presumably increased their price after the OP had ordered and therefore they increased their price.  What they should have done is informed the customer of the price change.  To have a clause in the T&C which effectively allows them to increase the price without warning may not be enforceable.  The OP had their money back so no harm done, apart from annoyance.

A company can't cancel a validly formed contract just because it becomes more difficult or expensive to perform than they had originally anticipated. That's just a bad bargain, not a bad contract. 

You might be right in theory, but the fact is that the company has cancelled the contract, and the only way now that the OP can enfore it is by taking legal action. As the money has been refunded the claim would be for loss of bargain between the original and new price, that may be worth doing if it's a big difference but it might be easier just to buy a chair elsewhere.

visidigi

The reason I asked for the cost is it could just as likely be an honest error.

Until the Op comes back and give more details we're all speculating.