Advertised item price is not actual price

Hi there,

I was going to buy an item online but wanted to query the delivery time over the phone as it’s a substantial purchase but when I rang the shop they said that their website person is off and they haven’t had a chance to update the price which is a difference of €700, if I proceeded to the checkout and paid the item, is the shop obliged to honor the website cost?

Thanking you

Kilconleagirl said:

Hi there,

I was going to buy an item online but wanted to query the delivery time over the phone as it’s a substantial purchase but when I rang the shop they said that their website person is off and they haven’t had a chance to update the price which is a difference of €700, if I proceeded to the checkout and paid the item, is the shop obliged to honor the website cost?

Thanking you

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Legally, no. Though your query is moot, given that you didn’t actually proceed to the checkout.

You could complain (I suppose) to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission that it’s false advertising or a misleading practice but you’d be wasting your time.

If you do buy the item on the website for €5,000, they can't come back to you and say, that is actually €5,700.

However, now that you know that there is an error on the website, they could refuse to honour it.

Brendan

They will almost certainly have terms on their website meaning they can cancel an order if they find an error in their pricing. One example from a site I was on this morning:

Occasionally, an error may occur and goods may be either incorrectly priced or described in which case we will not be obliged to supply the goods at the incorrect price or in accordance with the incorrect description or at all. We reserve the right to correct any errors from time to time.

The processing of your payment and acknowledgment of your order (including sending you an email confirming your order is being processed) does not constitute legal acceptance of your order.

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Leo said:

They will almost certainly have terms on their website meaning they can cancel an order if they find an error in their pricing. One example from a site I was on this morning:

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That's exactly it Leo.
They just won't dispatch it and will cancel and refund.
Annoying, but has happened to me once or twice over the years.

Same as if you saw an item in the shop window with a sticker for €5 and when you get inside they say it's actually €50.

An advertised or displayed item is known as 'an invitation to treat', in other words 'make me an offer'. If your offer is €5, shop owner can say no thanks. Having said that shop may be in breach for misleading advertising.

When laser scanning was first introduced into supermarkets, as part of the rollout and encouragement to shoppers, the supermarkets voluntarily signed up to giving you the item free (or at the displayed price - it varied) if the scanned price was higher than the displayed price. They may still do this?

Thirsty said:

An advertised or displayed item is known as 'an invitation to treat', in other words 'make me an offer'. If your offer is €5, shop owner can say no thanks. Having said that shop may be in breach for misleading advertising.

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Ah, you've just taken me back about 35 years, to my old business studies class

Thank you all for your feedback, i partly guessed just wanted your advice first, €700 of difference, inflation gone mad