Advertised prices & prices at the till...

[Bugz]

I remember a heated discussion on this years ago and I was proved wrong in the following:-

if a price says 50p on the shelf and it is actually 500p when scanned - the advertised price must be charged (the 50p)

BUT the show I just watched about consumer law says that infact as long as this isn't a deliberate mistake, the company can charge you 500p PROVIDED you haven't already paid for the goods.

Tris & others what is your stance on this? I cba to sift through all my own shit on that thread 3-4 years ago.

 

[DaGaffer]

Yeah, the law changed a couple of years ago.

 

[nath]

Yup, that's what I always understood. If it's a genuine mistake they can refuse to sell it - but as that show said (assuming it's the same one), if you've paid for it, it's yours.

 

[Tom]

Advertised price is an invitation to treat only.

 

[Uara]

Advertised price is an invitation to treat only.

Indeed, i could refer to case law but its not needed. The offer is only made once you go to the checkout! Which is when the actual price will be shown!

 

[Bugz]

What if say the discrepancy was less? Say the shelf says 30p but the product is now 32p and has changed in the past day but the SEL (the barcode & produce name which shows the price) has yet to be printed and put out?

Surely that is no fault of the retailer directly either (SELs take 1hour + to print) and so the 32p price CAN be accepted at the till (ignoring the fact most places will sell it for 30p out of good will).

 

[TdC]

Indeed, i could refer to case law but its not needed. The offer is only made once you go to the checkout! Which is when the actual price will be shown!

lolwhut? If something scanned turns out to be more expensive than the advertised price they can go take a flying fook tbh.

 

[taB]

Don't have to sell it at the advertised price if it's wrong. Have to deal with this quite often and it's never a problem. Have 500 odd wines on display, some vintages can be twice as expensive as others and the wrong tag can get on something without too much difficulty on a busy week. If it's a product that could be easily mistaken for something else, I might not price it so my colleagues can't get confused and have to ask me the price. Apologise, be polite and offer a negligable discount and all will be fine.

 

[TdC]

well, imo if a mistake has been made (by the seller), then sellers discretion.

I once say a TVR Chim on sale at an internet dealer for 4000 euros. It was meant to be 40000. The fellow told me that his phone had been ringing off the hook all morning, that people had actually discovered his home phone and called him there etc, but he couldn't correct the error because of some technical reason until later that afternoon.

 

[Bahumat]

well, imo if a mistake has been made (by the seller), then sellers discretion.

I once say a TVR Chim on sale at an internet dealer for 4000 euros. It was meant to be 40000. The fellow told me that his phone had been ringing off the hook all morning, that people had actually discovered his home phone and called him there etc, but he couldn't correct the error because of some technical reason until later that afternoon.

ouch!

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Advertised price is an invitation to treat only.

There are exceptions, such as restaraunts. They are forced to sell at advertised price under the sale of goods act.

 

[Tilda]

Advertised price is an invitation to treat only.

What Tom said, but agreeing with Roo too.
Thing on a shelf with a price is ITT.
You offer money at the till, if they agree with the price they accept. If a shop doesn't (because its marked up wrongly) they can reject and make a higher counter offer. Then its up to you to take it or leave it.

 

[Bugz]

Tilda how long has that been the case?

 

[tris-]

since the case of fisher v bell. whats that, the 80s, 70s? long time.

HOWEVER

the consumer protection from unfair trading regulations 2008 popped in last year. im not going to explain it all because it is a complex little number. in a nutshell though, the price is material information, and displaying the price is an action. alternatively, not displaying the price is an omission (but also an offence under the price marking order).

if the price is wrong, the action MAY BE a misleading action (even this is putting it basic, there is still more to it than that). i say may be, because i dont think anyone has been taken to court yet to prove it under this legislation.

due to the nature of a shop, you usually are offered a price before you pay and it is very hard for them to charge you more than this. however, maybe an internet site could display one price at the checkout, claim to charge you one price, but your card statement says they charged more. this would appear to me more like a misleading action.

anyway bugz, the best thing for you to do is contact your local trading standards as a trader and get their opinnion on it. thats what will count if something goes to court.


The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 No. 1277
The Price Marking Order 2004

There are exceptions, such as restaraunts. They are forced to sell at advertised price under the sale of goods act.

this is incorrect. nothing in that act makes this a requirement. current thinking in the profession suggests a restraunt/bar doesnt even have to display their prices for food and drinks on a menu anymore. that particular legal requirement was wiped out last year. though there is debate if this is a misleading omission.

 

[Edmond]

Hmmm, how about this then. Just bought a printer for work from Amazon for £99.98, it was advertised everwhere else at £250, so i thought 'bargin'

Now b4 it had even arrived by post, Amazon dropped the price by £20. So from the period of me buying to when it was delivered, they changed the price

Now its twice the price everywhere else, but even so, does that not seem a bit off?

I remember a few years back i got a PC Tomb Raider game from them for £25 and 2 weeks later they sold it for £19.99, and i got a e-mail from them giving me £5 credit, i didnt ask for it, they just did it

I phoned them tonight to see if there was anything that could be done, i wasnt shitty with them, i even said that if thats how it is, then so be it. They said they will call me back tomorrow

 

[Uara]

Fisher v Bell is 1961 but was preceded by Pharmecutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists (Southern) Ltd in 1953! But yeah the invitation to treat thing has been around for decades!

 

[tris-]

edmond : are you saying to us you found the product, chose the product and subsequently paid for the product?
if so, the price youve paid is the consideration in the contract. however, youve got rights under the distance selling regulations in your scenario.
you can cancel at any time upto recieving the goods. you then have 7 WORKING days, where you can cancel and return the goods. but you must take good care of them. you may also be charged for shipping the goods back, but they must refund everything you have paid.
if you want it cheaper, cancel the contract and buy it again.

a trader can charge anything they want for what they sell. if they make it cheaper the next day after youve bought it, thats just tough luck.

 

[Edmond]

edmond : are you saying to us you found the product, chose the product and subsequently paid for the product?
if so, the price youve paid is the consideration in the contract. however, youve got rights under the distance selling regulations in your scenario.
you can cancel at any time upto recieving the goods. you then have 7 WORKING days, where you can cancel and return the goods. but you must take good care of them. you may also be charged for shipping the goods back, but they must refund everything you have paid.
if you want it cheaper, cancel the contract and buy it again.

I was just a bit pissed off tbh, i know i have been unlucky and that i have ordered it on the cusp of them changing the price and apart from, as you say sending it all back, getting a refund and the re ordering it, it just my tough luck.

But i thought i would give it a try anyway. I'll see what they say tomorrow when they call me back, if they say sorry thats the way it is, then so be it, but there's no harm in trying is there

 

[Embattle]

In essence the law was cleaned up a bit, basically a shop can honour the price if they so wish but making a flap about it won't help as there isn't a legal requirement to do so other than that you can contact trading standards who if they get enough complaints may go and spot check that shop.

 

[Edmond]

Just remembered, i got a pair of jeans in GAP last January just after the sale, they were advertised at £35 but when the girl scanned them they rang up at £10, as they hadn't changed the bar code from the sale price.

I would have paid the full price but she let me have them for £10, her decision, not mine

 

[Edmond]

Amazon has refunded me £20, so it was worth the call to them, they didnt have to, but they have

 

[Gumbo]

That's good of Amazon.

When I was a retail spod we used to get this all the time. In a big shop with thousands of lines it is inevitable that prices get mixed up. Especially when we, like so many others, went away from direct pricing of each product, to labels on the shelves. How often late on a busy weekend do you think products have moved from their correct location?

Anyway, we'd often honour a wrong price if it wasn't too bad, as frankly it wasn't worth the arguing. But!

If the person was an arsehole and started loads of untrue shite about trading standards and me having to sell them it for a lower price I would trot out the fact that their bringing the product to the counter was an invitation to treat, and I wasn't forced to sell anything, to anyone. Now if you would kindly move aside, 'Sir', there are others who are waiting to pay for their goods.

Well, when you're a retail spod you have to liven up the day somehow, and baiting ignorant bolshie gits is certainly one way to do it.

 

[Bugz]

Tris, the legislation stuff confuses me to no end.

Is the price on the shelf an invitation to treat or not? If it is, is one legally obliged to charge that price if the real price, scanned at the till, is different?

 

[Tilda]

No bugz.

ITT is someone saying "come on, make me an offer" This is you seeing an item on a shelf with a price on it.

You then pick up the loaf of bread and take it to the counter with your money. This is in effect you saying "I'll give you 1.49 for the bread".
At this point, there is no contractual obligation.

The shop owner then can consider your offer (and compare it to what their till says you should be paying).
If they are happy taking £1.49, they can accept your offer, completing the contract.
Or, if their till says you should be paying £2.10 for that nice loaf of granary they can reject your offer and make a counter offer by saying "actually thats £2.10".

At this point, they have rejected your offer of £1.49, but the ball is back in your side of the court when it comes to their offer, you can either accept their offer and pay £2.10, or you can reject it and walk away.

The legal obligation comes when the offer is accepted. ITT is of no consequence other than as a legal concept as a "pre-offer" stage to stop people arguing that a loaf on a shelf was an offer.

 

[Bugz]

But wait - 2 years ago (or longer) I was flamed & called an idiot because I said the price on the shelf is an invitation to buy and that a legally binding contract of is formed only when a price is agreed upon only when money changes hands at the till.

I said the following:

"You only potentially enter a legally binding contract when the item is scanned and the price is agreed upon. As long as the store isn't just one big store full of wrong and highly fucked up prices, it does not matter if you the chocolate bar is 35p on the shelf but 40p when scanned."

Is that right or wrong and if it is right, how long has it been right for? Since 2006/2007 or longer?

 

[tris-]

invitation to buy is not the same as invitation to treat, going on the common meanings of both words. infact, i dont think there is such a thing as an invitation to buy in a legal sense. to me, an invitation to buy would be "i accept your offer of x" but an inviation to treat is "i offer this product for x price, do you accept?"

you only enter a contract when the following conditions are true

an offer is made
the offer is accepted
consideration is given (either a promise to pay, or actual payment)
there is an intention to form a legally binding contract (always assumed if one party is a trader).

tilda has nicely explained the concepts of fisher v bell. however, you need to consider the price marking order and the consumer protection from unfair trading regulations. these go to some lengths to add to that case. assuming youre not an excepted store, you must display a clear and unambiguous price. and secondly, your price must not be midlseading to an extent that it affects the 'average consumers transactional decision' (this phrase probably needs a neat little 1000 word summary to clarify).

as i said, it is rather complex. the best thing for you is to contact your local trading standards to get advice.

 

[russell]

That's good of Amazon.

When I was a retail spod we used to get this all the time. In a big shop with thousands of lines it is inevitable that prices get mixed up. Especially when we, like so many others, went away from direct pricing of each product, to labels on the shelves. How often late on a busy weekend do you think products have moved from their correct location?

Anyway, we'd often honour a wrong price if it wasn't too bad, as frankly it wasn't worth the arguing. But!

If the person was an arsehole and started loads of untrue shite about trading standards and me having to sell them it for a lower price I would trot out the fact that their bringing the product to the counter was an invitation to treat, and I wasn't forced to sell anything, to anyone. Now if you would kindly move aside, 'Sir', there are others who are waiting to pay for their goods.

Well, when you're a retail spod you have to liven up the day somehow, and baiting ignorant bolshie gits is certainly one way to do it.

Ahhh happy days... I quite enjoyed being a retail spod

 

[Kryten]

Had a right go at the cashier in Tesco's in Brackley the other morning.

They have a "meal deal" - sandwhich, pack of crisps, soft drink, all in the same section, all labelled up with this £2 meal deal logo.

Total cost? £3.16. "But that's the price the till says!"
"Yeah, but the the offer plastered ALL OVER THAT WHOLE SECTION" says £2. You can see it from here.

Naturally I got a quid 16 back.

 

[Jupitus]

Naturally I got a quid 16 back.

Sheez, her maths was REALLY bad!

 

[Kryten]

Er, unfortunately my typing is clearly worse than her maths :|

1 pound 16 pence, I meant

Something like that