Trading standards issue?

[goldmercury]

Hi folks - what's the stance on a shop advertising an item at a certain price but when you go to buy it they refuse to sell you the said item at the price advertised?

I had an experience in PC World, and was told that I could not buy a the laptop that I was after and would have to purchase an additional service. Did a little video to make it a bit more clear what the situation is.

Just wondering if I should put a complaint in to trading standards or are PC World within their right to refuse the sale?

 

[silvermusic]

As an expert why on earth are you even considering buying from PC World. well someone had to say it.

The extra service for making the backup USB is probably handy for idiots. However, doing it in advance while understandable for speed is silly if as in your case they're losing sales. I guess they're making the backups and deleting the recovery partition? Making backup/recovery USB drives is a piece of pi** anyway, I done 2 on new laptops this year, one on an Acer the other I've forgotten what make I did it for a relative.

 

[Ally Maxwell]

An invitation to treat

What then is an example of when an offer is not deemed to have been made? The key question would appear to be whether one party should be bound by his offer. This is essential for contract law as if an offer is deemed to have been accepted then it may well be that a contract has been formed. The courts therefore distinguish an offer from what is known as an invitation to treat by objectively asking if the party intended to be bound by their statement.

A good example of when an invitation to treat is likely to be inferred by a court as opposed to an offer is if one party is merely hoping to commence negotiations. Therefore, the courts will always look at the language used or the inferred intention of the parties when deciding between an offer and an invitation to treat.

The classic example of an invitation to treat is when a shop owner puts a very low price on a product in the shop window. If you take the item to the counter the shopkeeper does not have to sell it to you. In strict legal terms it is you that makes the offer by offering to buy the product with your money. A shopkeeper who has mistakenly priced a product too cheaply is therefore not obliged to sell at that price.

An invitation to treat is a tool to get negotiations going and show the terms which one party may be willing to accept, as opposed to an offer in which one party is prepared to be legally bound by upon acceptance

 

[Alan]

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations mean you can’t mislead or harass consumers by, for example:

• including false or deceptive messages
• leaving out important information
• using aggressive sales techniques

They misled you into believing you could buy that product at that price, they left out important information - that their 'service' was mandatory.

I think that they fall foul of this an deserve a fine - report them to trading standards!

5. Special offer – not in stock Making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price, without disclosing the existence of any reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he/she will not be able to offer for supply or to procure another trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered. This is known as bait advertising.

10. Promoting a product you don’t want to sell Making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price and then: (a) Refusing to show the advertised item to consumers; Or (b) Refusing to take orders for it or deliver it within a reasonable time; Or (c) Demonstrating a defective sample of it, with the intention of promoting a different product (known as bait and switch).

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Cant you order it online?

Report it to TS.

 

[garyk]

TS don't want to know these days. If you have an issue you will be directed to citizens advice.

 

[GraemeL]

When you are making a retail purchase on the retailers premises, the contract is made when they accept your payment.

They are within their rights to refuse to sell.

 

[Ally Maxwell]

When you are making a retail purchase on the retailers premises, the contract is made when they accept your payment.

They are within their rights to refuse to sell.

At last, someone else posts something that is factually correct, rather than the other 'advice' posted here.

 

[goldmercury]

I had a feeling that this may be the case however the advertising is false so that should stand for something.

 

[Ally Maxwell]

I had a feeling that this may be the case however the advertising is false so that should stand for something.

Maybe it should, but it doesn't. Re read my post above.

 

[Gecko001]

They messed you about. You behaved like any business person, by not concluding the deal. Now whinging about it is not really very business-like is it?