Amazon breaking consumer rights law?
I ordered three copes of a cd set that was selling at a very good price on Amazon.de on 8th February. This item was marked as in stock at the time and for a good two weeks after, although my estimated delivery date was surprisingly slow, quoted as 11th March - 20th April. Around the end of February the price of the item went up. Yesterday, 7th March, I receive this message:
_we have current information on your order. _
_Unfortunately, the next title is not available: _
_This article had to be given permanently deleted from your order. _
Please visit the respective detail page to possibly find these item (s) from other suppliers.
My understanding of retail law in shops is that you cannot charge a higher price at checkout than the one advertised. Does this not apply to Amazon? Are they not obliged to supply me at the price agreed, albeit they have now cancelled my order even though I was prepared to wait as long as necessary?
31 replies
Seller_qHzcAWcsPVCfg
I assume you bought from Amazon and not a marketplace seller.
If as you implied, Amazon are now, since your order, again selling the same set then you may well be right that in effect they are breaking some consumer law, but they will have an excuse for it, somehow, no doubt.
Seller_jjQ4dQOPjTmqs
You can advertise at whatever price you like but you’re not obliged to sell at that price, so they’ve not broken any law.
Amazon clearly didn’t have the CDs in stock in the first place and now admit to it.
Seller_3nYDEKuPvlpTC
From what you have described Amazon has not breach any law.They have the right to cancel the order as long as they refund your money. There is no obligation to carry out the sale. in the past , in the similar situation , Amazon acknowledged the lower price but as a gesture of goodwill not as a law obligation.
Also from my experience, it is normal practice from amazon when the price change, they make time gap of around 2-3 week of stop selling the item before changing the price.
Seller_MKi6wqe68YZuu
The offer price is legally known as an invitation to tender. The final contractual price is only set at the till when, after it has been agreed, when money is exchanged. Until then, the seller can change the price or withdraw the item from sale.
Has been like that since forever,
Seller_LXQOmmt8kqH2J
The long answer: this illustrates the difference between an “invitation to treat” and an “offer to sell”. A product may be advertised at £10 (this includes goods on display in a shop - see PSGB v Boots (1953), if you’re interested). One is then “invited to treat” (ie, make an offer to buy), when one takes the item to the till to pay for it. At that point, the seller can make a counter offer and say “no, that’s not the price - it’s actually £20.” However, if one made a habit of doing that, then it starts to suggest fraudulent conduct.
Online buying is a bit different - it depends upon the T&Cs as to whether one has a contract, or not. So, the contract (and the price), may be fixed once one pays, or possibly when the goods are sent. Seeing as how Amazon sends an advisory email saying “your goods have been dispatched, and the order can’t now be changed”; and seeing as how buyers don’t get charged until an item is marked as dispatched, I’d say that one does not have a contract just because one places an order on Amazon (because one’s offer has not been accepted prior to dispatch, and no money has changed hands), and therefore one is not entitled to insist on the price that one ordered at.
The short answer is “no, they’re not breaking Consumer Law.”
Seller_l78koE9kGCu59
No unfortunately that’s a common misconception. I worked for many years as an HMV manager and we’d regularly get similar complaints / queries. In the most case to avoid a screaming match on the shopfloor we used to honour it but it was not nor ever has been a legal obligation. Trading Standards were sometimes even contacted if the customer didn’t speak to an actual manager and they’d advise the same. Basically if a retailermakes “an error” they can choose to remove the stock to correctly reprice it - including any stock that may be at the paypoint or in a customers basket on the way to the paypoint". Sorry but it’s their shop they can do hat they like. Obviously they can’t make you pay the higher price but they can state it was simply a mistake. I’ve had the same as the OP a few times and also had repeated orders cancelled as it “contradicts their policy”.
Seller_NICWlsTx76BMs
Consumer law does not cover this specifically, this is contract law. The price advertised is known as an invitation to treat and by adding to the basket your are making an offer and they are able to reject your order. If they had taken payment it gets more complicated but it is still arguably not a binding contract as they have not yet given the goods in consideration for your money. Even if it is brash of contract you’d be entitled to be returned to that state you were in before you made the contract, so your money back.
In essence they are completely within their rights to do what they did as is a shop if the label on the shelf says 50p but it’s actually £1 they do not have to sell it at 50p although many large retailers do tend to honour mistakes like this it isevtitely discretionary.
Seller_YropdiN8t2UD4
Wouldn’t this count as a bait and switch? The product might be the same but it is now at a higher price.
