ATS EUROMASTER BREACHED MY CONSUMER RIGHTS

4_Pete's_Sake

On Thursday evening 5th May 2022  I purchased 2 AVON ZT7 175/65 R14 82T Tyres for my car on the ATS Euromaster Website which were advertised at £40.95 fully fitted, therefore £81.90 for both tyres. ATS also currently have a promotion giving  £32 off the purchase of 2 Avon Tyres or £64 off 4 tyres. Therefore with the £32 reduction showing in my basket I was asked to pay the reduced price of £49.90 for the two tyres and I selected a fitting slot at my local ATS at 15.30 hours on Monday 9th May 2022.

I paid for the tyres IN FULL using my Paypal Account and then never heard anything from ATS either by phone or email prior to arriving at my local Branch at 15.30 hours on Monday 9th May to have the tyres fitted.

On my arrival a member of staff said he had been trying to contact me on my mobile number to discuss my purchase. I immediately showed him the call history on my phone for 9th May and that there were no missed calls even though he had been calling the correct number.

He then explained that there had been an error in the pricing on the website and that I could either have a full refund or pay an extra £30.08 for the 2 Avon tyres. Therefore they have not complied with their legal duty to honour the prices displayed on their website and their failure to do so is a breach of my Consumer Rights.

I had entered into a legally binding consumer agreement with ATS Euromaster to fit the 2 tyres for £49.90 and fully paid for them. Their email to me confirming the purchase stated that products and services are subject to availability and that a legally binding contract is only created when availability is confirmed and when I attend an ATS Euromaster Service Centre.

As I had attended my local ATS Branch and availability of the tyres was confirmed the legally binding contract was created and therefore by asking me to pay an extra £30.08, ATS have breached their contract with me. Whilst having the tyres fitted I  contacted our Local Trading Standards Department who were also of the opinion that a Breach of Contract had indeed occurred.

I have emailed ATS and given them 14 days to honour the contract and to refund me the additional £30.08 that I had to pay at my local branch and am hoping that they will resolve this matter amicably. If not then I will return to Trading Standards to launch a formal investigation.

Is there anything else that you Champions of Consumer Rights would do in this situation.

Money_Grabber13579

If the price was incorrect and it was obvious that it was a mistake, then the contract will be voided and so you have nothing to enforce. Just my opinion, but at £25 a tyre, I’d be of the view that it’s obviously a mistake in the price. Whether they decide to give you a goodwill gesture to make you go away is purely up to them.

molerat

Looks like someone had taken the £16 discount off the web price in error.  They are allowed to correct obvious mistakes and you agreed to them doing that.

Please read these Website Terms carefully and print a copy for your future reference. By ordering a Product or Service from us, you agree that you have read, understood and agree to these Website Terms, the Relevant Service Terms, the Privacy Notice, the Guarantee Conditions and the Consumer Terms (each as amended from time to time).

3.5 Whilst we always endeavour to ensure that prices and descriptions given on the Website are correct inevitably errors do occur. Where the price or description of a Product or Service is found to be incorrect as part of the order verification process we shall contact you and inform you of the correct price and/or description following which you may either confirm the order with the correct price and/or description or cancel your order in which event we will reimburse the price paid by you.

..................................

cymruchris

They haven't breached your consumer rights. They have upset you as a customer yes, but in this case there is no case. It's outlined as above on their website, and there's no law that says you have to be sold something for the price it is advertised at. Where a mistake has been made, the seller can offer you your money back or you pay the difference. They may give you a goodwill gesture if you write to them outlining that nobody called you, but it's not guaranteed you'll get anything. Of course, the mistake has cost them your future custom, but as a one-off I'm sure they don't worry too much about that. I'm sure you'll find an alternative supplier next time you need tyres. You might want to edit your original post to remove your registration number though - I'm not sure why you've provided that - but this is an anonymous forum where we don't publish any details that could be used to identify us in some way. 

Diamandis

4_Pete's_Sake said:
 If not then I will return to Trading Standards to launch a formal investigation.

This is not how that works at all. Trading standards don't launch formal investigations because you're unhappy with the price of something you buy. I really hope you've not said this to the company you bought from.

The_Fat_Controller

As you have the tyres, it would seem that you have now agreed to their pricing and a contract has been completed at that corrected price.

You may get a goodwill gesture as mentioned above, but that is the best you can hope for.

Olinda99

From a purely legal point of view, yes you have a contract with ATS - that is clear. But a contract - any contract - is always subject to any Terms and Conditions specified (by either party) at the point the contract is made. 

As helpfully pointed out by @molerat, one of the T&C is as stated, so there has been no breach of contract and you have no remedy.

Aylesbury_Duck

Why do I suspect this will end up with OP getting a refund, an apology and a new car?

MarvinDay

Olinda99 said:

From a purely legal point of view, yes you have a contract with ATS - that is clear. But a contract - any contract - is always subject to any Terms and Conditions specified (by either party) at the point the contract is made. 

Not strictly correct.
Any T&C's specified will only be binding if agreed by both parties but more importantly, only if those T&C's are legal and don't attempt to reduce or remove any statutory rights.

It's a bit like many consumer orientated websites that state returns are not permitted for any change of mind purchases or that when returning goods, the original P&P will not be refunded.
Although these terms may well be in the written into the contract of sale and agreed to by the consumer, as they may breach the CCR's (providing that the return is allowable under those regulations) then despite both parties stating that they agreed to them, the consumer can't be held to those terms.

Olinda99

Thanks for the clarification. Is there any suggestion that section 3.5 above breaches the CCRs and is thus unenforceable?

TonyMMM

Olinda99 said:

Thanks for the clarification. Is there any suggestion that section 3.5 above breaches the CCRs and is thus unenforceable?

No.........