Argos/Homebase 49p telly discussion thread

hellofreebies

whos gonna join the bandwagon then?

link

Destiny33

madstef wrote:

MMmmmm Keep reading all the reply's but not spoken yet

No email from Argos, No letter and no refund!

Might give them a bell on the 21st sep if not heard anything by then - not sure what else to do - only ordered the one tv - have I slipped throught the net? (Yeah right! LOL!)

We will see!!!!!

Good luck and fingers crossed after all this fiasco it would be great if someone got something

Graham_Devon

hellofreebies wrote:

whos gonna join the bandwagon then?

link

Well I have as I'm really interested in the laws surrounding this! Don't really care if I get a TV out of it, but want to be kept up to date.

BritishBeef

I filled out the online form and today I got this e-mail:

Thank you for registering your interest in this matter.



Background



On or about the 27th August 2005 and for a relatively short period of time, the websites of Homebase and Argos appeared to advertise for sale a Bush 28-inch integrated digital TV, DVD recorder and stand for a price of 49p. There are reports, which we have not been able to confirm, that up to 10,000 people may have entered into transactions on-line seeking to purchase this item at that price. We have already been approached by more than 200 of those prospective purchasers. Many, but not all, have been informed that Argos/Homebase do not intend to honour the transaction and that the company claims to be entitled to withdraw from the contract on the basis of Clauses 2.3 and 4.2(b) of their terms and conditions of business which say as follows;



“2.3 acceptance of your order and the completion of the contract between you and us will take place on despatch to you of the products ordered unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it…



4.2(b) while we try and ensure that all prices on our website are accurate, errors may occur. If we discover an error in the price of goods you have ordered we will inform you as soon as possible and give you the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price or cancelling it. If we are unable to contact you we will treat the order as cancelled.”



It has been asserted by the Company that the mistaken price was only advertised between midnight and 7 a.m. on the 27th August. However, some of those purchasers who have contacted us have asserted that their money was taken much earlier and it is possible that the price may have been quoted for longer than that 7-hour period.



Although the Company has stated that they are cancelling these orders and refunding the money, many of the purchasers had not received their refund of money by the time they contacted us more than a week after their money had been taken.



Many of the purchasers have said to us that they are concerned that their money was taken in a situation where the Argos/Homebase website did not make it clear that the Company was not in fact entering into a contract to supply the goods, even though the money was being taken. Others have told us that they have referred to the government website at http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/general/advertising/fs_p01.shtml which states:



“…it is a criminal offence for traders to give a misleading price indication about goods or services. That applies in whatever way the price indication is given, whether written in a notice or leaflet or given verbally. For example, you may see a shelf edge price ticket showing £5.00 for the item, then you are charged £5.10 at the checkout. Another misleading price indication may be a price indicated on a leaflet, but you are charged at a higher price in the store.



However, a trader who mistakenly prices a product (for example 28” wide screen television for £39.90 instead of £399) is not obliged to honour that price unless the transaction has already been completed. The trader must nevertheless take immediate steps to rectify the mistake.”



Many have told us that they had understood that they had completed the transaction when they paid and that the terms and conditions were not properly bought to their attention.



Merits


Our views on the case were summarised on the web site. There are other arguments which can be raised about the way that the Argos/Homebase web site operated, which we have not mentioned. We have also highlighted above the concern about a possible infringement of trading standards laws. We feel that those who have become embroiled in this fiasco are entitled to a detailed explanation of the way that this situation has arisen. In the age when it is possible to purchase flights from one European City to another for just 49p, it is over-simplistic to assume that this was definitely a mistake and not a intentional marketing strategy to attract business to a web site; it is also over-simplictic to state that all those who purchased these items were actually aware that a mistake had been made.



Proposal



We are writing to you because you have completed a form giving details of your own purchase. We are responding to ask if you wish to assist us in obtaining a court order which will have the effect of requiring Argos to supply the televisions in question or appropriate compensation.



We wish to create a “fighting fund” by collecting donations from those who may be interested in taking this further, so that we can pursue one or more "test" cases. We are proposing that each purchaser sends us a non-refundable donation of £15. You can assist by contributing to this fund. We wish to know whether you would be prepared to do so, though we are not asking you to send any money at present. We propose that if you contribute to the fund and we are successful in pursuing a claim against Argos we will inform you of the outcome of any action we take, so that you can follow suit if we are successful.



Once the fund has been established, we will identify up to 10 of those who have contacted us who will be invited to become clients of the firm. At the moment we are not asking you to become a client of the firm, but we would like to know whether you would be prepared to allow us to pursue your case if we are in a position to proceed.



Having identified the initial clients, we will obtain full details from them about the circumstances pertaining to their transaction and, on the basis of the more detailed information received from them, write a letter to Argos/Homebase setting out the basis of the claims and asking for a full and detailed explanation of what has happened.



Additional information




If we proceed with this group action it will be important for us to be able to re-create the circumstances in which these transactions took place. Since the transaction took place on line, the pages viewed at the relevant time will have been stored as temporary internet files in most internet browsers for up to three weeks, and therefore it is important, as a matter of urgency, that you take steps to print out or otherwise preserve these pages. Please preserve these, and all emails and any other evidence carefully.



Legal Expenses Insurance


Please check and let us know whether you have Legal Expenses Insurance which will cover this type of claim. Many household contents policies or business insurance packages now include this cover automatically. If in doubt, please check your policy or ask your broker to let you know the position as soon as possible. The insurance company will not pay any contribution to your costs until after they have assessed the case and given permission to proceed. If you have the benefit of Legal Expenses Insurance, we reserve the right to deal with your case under the terms of that policy.


Yours faithfully



BEVANS

Solicitors

stratford_2

sorry, but I have to say that the bit in the above statement about when people believe that the contract was formed is a complete load of twaddle.


It was very clear from the outset that Argos stated in their T&Cs that a contract was not formed at the early stage everyone was involved - I, and many others, posted the the relevant section and everyone who took a chance on this offer confirmed that they agreed to those terms and conditions.
Forget it, and in the true spirit of money saving, keep your £15

bugbod

I also got that letter, and will be passing it on to a tame solicitor for a read. He specialises in contract law, but in the music industry.

bugbod

BTW, to say that they were taken off at 7am is a LIE. Can't prove it though.

c_smith

stratford wrote:

sorry, but I have to say that the bit in the above statement about when people believe that the contract was formed is a complete load of twaddle.


It was very clear from the outset that Argos stated in their T&Cs that a contract was not formed at the early stage everyone was involved - I, and many others, posted the the relevant section and everyone who took a chance on this offer confirmed that they agreed to those terms and conditions.
Forget it, and in the true spirit of money saving, keep your £15

If the contract was not formed at the early stage as you put it, then why was payment taken? Argos cannot have it both ways. They cannot take your money and hold it until they they decide whether they are going to send you the good and then claim that a contract was not made.

If this is the case, then what is to stop them from taking your money and holding it for 2 or 3 months before refunding it and claiming that there was no contract? I'm sorry, but Argos cannot rewrite the fundamental principles of contract law by adding a few clauses into their terms and conditions. What next? Do we allow nightclubs to issue tickets to customers incorportating clauses to allow the bouncers to kick the !!!! out of you if you do something they don't like? I mean going by your logic it wouldn't be assault would it, because you've agreed to the nightclubs terms and conditions!!

BritBrat

We are proposing that each purchaser sends us a non-refundable donation of £15.

You can send me the £15 instead if you like, it will be just as well spent if not better.

Waste of time, you agreed to the T&C and they stated they took the money and will refund it if there is an error, and that's what they did.

Forget it and move on and save your £15 but if you realy want to throw £15 away send me a PM for my bank sort code.

biglugs

God are people STILL going on about this Argos mistake!!? Save yourself £15 and spoil a lawyers skiing holiday by not getting involved in this. The only reason you're being asked about Legal Expenses is so the lawyers can get their hands on even more money.
There'll only be one group of gainers in this and it won't be Argos or the customers!