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So have purchased an item in the sale and it was sent with Evri. The option to have it delivered to the local parcel shop was given, so I did that. Evri decided they couldn’t deliver it there and returned to sender. The price has now more than doubled and they won’t resend it and will only refund. Any way I can get them to send it back at the original price? Contract law etc.
I *think* the contract of sale isn't complete/binding until you have both paid and received the item.
They are legally required to refund you what you've paid so you've suffered no loss.. but I think you're on the back foot here unless they sell at the reduced price as a gesture of good will.
Doubtful if it's no longer in the sale.
Worth trying I guess.
(I think the price on something is just an offer that you can accept or reject - the offer price has changed and I don't think they are bound to keep it in place)
I doubt it.
Off the top of my head, they're probably in breach of contract. When you buy something there are a number of steps which are implied. You giving money and them taking it implies that both parties have agreed to the transaction, creating a contract of sale. Them handing you the item, you inspecting it and agreeing to keep it implies completion of contract.
However, there are get-out clauses. If Ferrari were testing a new e-commerce website, put in some dummy data and listed a Daytona for 1p, then accidentally pushed the site live and you bought a hundred of them, they wouldn't be obliged to honour that. If your retailer were to argue "obvious pricing error, squire" there's probably little you could do.
I had similar happen to me. I bought a book online from Oxfam, it didn't arrive so I chased it up. Turned out it had been returned for some Courier-Fictional reason, I asked them to retry delivery and was told they couldn't because they'd already restocked it and refunded me. I had to go back onto their store page and buy it again, which I did and it arrived promptly. But there was every chance they could have sold it in the interim and then what? It was used, rare and long out of print, they couldn't just get another one out of stock.
I suppose, thinking about it, sold unseen you're well within your rights to receive the goods and change your mind, implicitly cancelling the contract. It's possible that the courier returning it and you returning it are analogous legally, in both cases the net result is the same in that it's back with the seller. But I'm into guesswork territory here.
As mattyfez says, I suspect that your best approach would be to ask them nicely to honour the previous sale price as a gesture of goodwill. You might get lucky.
Thinking about it, the fact it was paid for and despatched muddies the water a bit as they were clearly intending to sell at the lower price. It could be argued they kinda did sell it as they took the money and dispatched the goods.
So yeah I suppose it could be construed as breach of contract.. But assuming you could demonstrate that and tried to sue them.. You could only sue them for your actual losses ... But you've not lost anything in this case if they refund in full.. so it would be a bit of a catch 22.
I had similar and raised a case with citizen’s advice, their answer (below) is thorough and v good imo - and the short version is yes you potentially have a case for ‘loss of bargain’ (although I’ve had a lawyer friend say it’s aka ‘loss of chance’ ) but in the end for me it looked like too much hassle and I took their advice and never frequented the retailer again (a given in your case). Either way here’s the long version from CAA - you asked! and good luck!
Note - the Loss of bargain bit is a few paragraphs down but you need the whole text for the complete picture.
Your rights and obligations:
When a consumer enters into a contract with a trader by means of a distance communication (telephone, internet, mail order etc.) they will generally have cancellation rights under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. These regulations, which we abbreviate to the ‘ICAC’ regulations came in to effect on 13th June 2014, and the cancellation, or ‘cooling off period’, starts when the contract is entered in to and generally ends at the end of the 14th day from the day after the goods are received; or the consumers’ cancellation rights have been received in a durable form; such as letter, email etc.
The ICAC regulations also require the trader to provide pre-contract information in durable form, which should explain what you purchased, how much you are expected to pay, what are your cancellation rights and instructions on how you can cancel. If no such information has been provided; the consumer could hold the trader in breach of contract and pursue them for a full refund regardless of whether you received the goods or not. You can read more about the ICAC Regulations here.
In addition if the trader failed to honour the original agreement by sending you an incorrect order then you may hold them in ‘breach of contract’. What you may seek is dependent on the severity of the breach -
- if the breach is serious, you may seek to end the contract and claim a full refund;
- if the breach is minor, it may be more appropriate to claim a partial refund that reflects the nature of the problem.
Please note, by offering you a full refund the trader could be seen as reasonable, because you will be put back into pre-contractual position.
You would not have to accept such a position and could pursue the trader for 'loss of bargain' if they refuse to provide the goods and/or services for what you consider is, the agreed price.
When seeking 'loss of bargain' you would be looking for a refund of any amount already paid and to then recover any extra charges you might incur in buying or booking the same product elsewhere. This is because no one can force anyone to perform an act they are not willing to perform, but they can pursue them for an amount of damages (money) that would reflect any costs they have incurred as a direct consequence of a breach of contract.
In practical terms this can be difficult, because you would be expected to demonstrate that have you have found exactly the same product for the best possible price; however it could be used as a lever to negotiate with the trader, in order to try and reach an amicable compromise.
When two parties to a civil dispute cannot reach an amicable compromise; the claimant would need to consider escalating their claim which could lead to civil court action. Ultimately only a court can decide what, if anything you are entitled to and order the trader to provide that redress.
In regards to a poor customer service; although there is no excuse for poor customer service, there is no legislation dictating the level of service a consumer can expect from any trader.
As such, we often suggest to any consumer which feels they have suffered poor customer service to take their future custom elsewhere. This is because many retailers rely on return custom in order to run a profitable business; therefore any trader not demonstrating decent standards of customer service would hinder their own ability to run a successful business.
When seeking ‘loss of bargain’ you would be looking for a refund of any amount already paid and to then recover any extra charges you might incur in buying or booking the same product elsewhere. This is because no one can force anyone to perform an act they are not willing to perform, but they can pursue them for an amount of damages (money) that would reflect any costs they have incurred as a direct consequence of a breach of contract.
In practical terms this can be difficult
That's the crux, isn't it. It's arguing that the refund offered should be their current price rather than the sale price, but good luck in holding them to it.
I've not come across that before, interesting.