Legal advice: Incorrect Marked Price

[Spinal]

So I went to JJB sports today to buy a new set of gym trousers and some other items. I found a pair of trousers went to pay and was told it was part of a set, so I could only buy it if I found a matching shirt. Fair enough.

I then found a nice pair of adidas trousers, on special offer "Old price £34.99 new price £24.99". Looking at the rest of the tags attached showed that the old price was £29.99, which in it's own I thought wasn't a "correct" thing to do. (mis-represent the old price)

I went to pay and got charged £29.99 for the trousers, I complained and the teller "went to check the price (even though the tag clearly said "Old price £34.99 new price £24.99"). 10 minutes later she comes back and says that the manager said it was mis-tagged, along with all the other trousers on that shelf, and that legally they have 24 hours to change the tags, so if I wanted it I would have to pay £29.99. I returned the trousers, along with the other £100 or so of other things I was planning to buy.

Now, my question is - is this legal? I was under the impression that if an item is advertised at a price they can't say the price really is more... am I wrong?

I realise it's only £5 - but I was so disgusted with the customer service that I'm really annoyed... and am planning to go back tomorrow to check if they have changed the price! (just in case the 24 hours thing is true...)

M.

Quick edit, jsut to clarify - I paid the £29.99 and had a receipt before realising the "mistake". I then returned it, (all of it out of disgust)

 

[agatward]

As I understand it they do not have to sell the goods to you at the price advertised, but cannot sell them at a higher cost to you at that point in time. The shelf labels are an 'invitation to purchase' at a set price.

 

[crockers]

Agatward is correct. A shop's price is an invitation for you to make an offer for the goods - they do not have to accept your offer.

BUT - if it can be proved that they mislead you on purpose then that is an illegal act. A mistake is just that - a mistake. No idea where they get the 24 hours from. They can just refuse your offer to purchase.

 

[columb]

Are you sure? I think that shops are obligated to honour labels!
I used to work fo coop and we always had to accept the price/offer (bogof)
and take down labels.

Also, same case in Tesco- wrong price on the till, but accepted label price.

I think that you are talking about remote selling - which is different to local one.

Cheers
Chris

 

[crockers]

Are you sure? I think that shops are obligated to honour labels!
I used to work fo coop and we always had to accept the price/offer (bogof)
and take down labels.

Also, same case in Tesco- wrong price on the till, but accepted label price.

I think that you are talking about remote selling - which is different to local one.

Cheers
Chris

I think that you will find that that was Company policy.... not a legal requirement..


look at the question on this Q&A about miscanned prices



http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/your_rights/goods.shtml

 

[HughJarse]

Does anyone know what happens if the item is say £50 - which is rang throught the the till, but they mistype the creditcard machine and charge you £20 ( as the 5 is on top of the 2 ). so your till receipt is correct but they mistype the creditcard machine - can they claim days later that you owe them £30??

 

[crockers]

Does anyone know what happens if the item is say £50 - which is rang throught the the till, but they mistype the creditcard machine and charge you £20 ( as the 5 is on top of the 2 ). so your till receipt is correct but they mistype the creditcard machine - can they claim days later that you owe them £30??

A contract is offer / acceptance and money or monies worth.

You offered them £20 they accepted £20 and you exchanged £20 so no come back.

If you offered them £50 and they accepted £50 and you have only given them £20 - then technically they can come after you for the other £30...but it would be hard to prove you didn't offer £20 in the first place.

 

[Defiant]

£29.99 for a pair of pants?

That's a crime in itself.

 

[Dryce]

Are you sure? I think that shops are obligated to honour labels!
I used to work fo coop and we always had to accept the price/offer (bogof)
and take down labels.

Also, same case in Tesco- wrong price on the till, but accepted label price.

They're not obligated to honour labels.

IME though, the likes of Asda and Tesco make a point of honouring them (within reason) - and then undertake whatever action is needed to correct them for subsequent customers.

 

[neilrr]

JJB Sports?

Isn't that a sort of cathedral or shrine to Chavwear?

 

[gina2201]

Did Argos advertise TV's in it's catalogue ridiculously cheap not so long ago? Worth say £500 and sold for like a fiver or something, Many people obviously rushed in and bought loads, then it was noted and they stopped sales of the TV!? Lucky few that got them!

I have also heard that even though shops advertise a price, it doesn't mean they have to sell it to you at that price. Does the invitation to sell mean then that we can bargain on our bread and milk?

 

[Rory]

The offer/accpetance thing is correct - they don't have to honour the incorrect price, although most decent shops will.

In this case though, it appears the labels are, at the very least, confusing, as they appear to have offered a reduction in price when in fact there wasn't one.

 

[verytalldave]

Are you sure? I think that shops are obligated to honour labels!
I used to work fo coop and we always had to accept the price/offer (bogof)
and take down labels.

Also, same case in Tesco- wrong price on the till, but accepted label price.

I think that you are talking about remote selling - which is different to local one.

Cheers
Chris

I think the unwritten rule that Tescos/Sainsburys/etc.... automatically do that is has stopped. They have SO many cases of people swapping labels to buy things cheaper. And not just your typical profile lifter either, loads of sweet little old ladies are up to this trick. Meat and alcohol in particular.

As far as the OP question is concerned. The shop has no legal requirement to sell you anything at any price.
The label price or the barcode price is for the purchasers information only. Although MOST large shops will sell the item at its tagged price to retain good customer relations. Providing they are 100% sure it is an inhouse error and not someone trying to blag it.
No different to pubs being able to refuse service without cause or reason.

 

[NW_Merc]

not just your typical profile lifter either, loads of sweet little old ladies are up to this trick. Meat and alcohol in particular.

Thieving gypsies..... they should be banned from the store

 

[Spinal]

Doh! Oh well, they lost a customer as I'm not going back...

As to it being a chav shrine, it may be... but it's the only shop near me where I can get Adidas sportswear as well as hand-wraps and swimming equipment, all under one roof...

That said, surely there must be something about false advertising on special offers? e.g. "This item originally cost £500, now for only £5" when in reality the item used to cost £5 before? I kow in Italy, before putting an item on "special offer" the previous price MUST have been used/displayed for a certain amount of time (I believe 6 months...). It was designed to stop shops from doubling the price one day, and then putting a "half-price" tag the day after...

M.

 

[columb]

I kow in Italy, before putting an item on "special offer" the previous price MUST have been used/displayed for a certain amount of time (I believe 6 months...). It was designed to stop shops from doubling the price one day, and then putting a "half-price" tag the day after...

M.

Same in UK - it must be on the display for at least 30 days if I'm right...
When I was looking for a bed, salesmen told me that "this bed is costing now £3000 so next week we can do 1/2 price sale!"
He even said that he is not going to sell me that bed at that price!
(not that I would anyway)

Cheers
Chris

 

[verytalldave]

Doh! Oh well, they lost a customer as I'm not going back...

As to it being a chav shrine, it may be... but it's the only shop near me where I can get Adidas sportswear as well as hand-wraps and swimming equipment, all under one roof...

That said, surely there must be something about false advertising on special offers? e.g. "This item originally cost £500, now for only £5" when in reality the item used to cost £5 before? I kow in Italy, before putting an item on "special offer" the previous price MUST have been used/displayed for a certain amount of time (I believe 6 months...). It was designed to stop shops from doubling the price one day, and then putting a "half-price" tag the day after...

M.

The UK has very tight legislation regarding "sale" offers. However, as has already been said, if a genuine mistake in pricing has taken place, then no action will be taken against the seller. Interpretation of "genuine" is always a point of contention and open to question. If a shop has been spotted several times trying the same trick, then they will be prosecuted. But, this sounds a genuine error, and as such, you are unlikely to get mileage from it.
Accept it as a stupid error, probably made by someone who is earning minimum wages and is doing a job that is as uninteresting as painting coal.

You can always buy off the internet.................

 

[Meldrew2]

JJB Sports?

Isn't that a sort of cathedral or shrine to Chavwear?

So really, this should be posted on the White Corsa Club Forum....

:bannana:

(then again, there is a Pizza Hut topic too - have we been invaded by Chavs???)

 

[SimonsMerc]

Accept it as a stupid error, probably made by someone who is earning minimum wages and is doing a job that is as uninteresting as painting coal.

Painting coal sounds pretty interesting actually. What colour would you like your coal sir? Red? No problem, how about a tinge of yellow on the top? Maybe some green thrown in? Wonderful!

-simon

 

[verytalldave]

Painting coal sounds pretty interesting actually. What colour would you like your coal sir? Red? No problem, how about a tinge of yellow on the top? Maybe some green thrown in? Wonderful!

-simon

BTW...........it was something they made new recruits in the army do back in the 1950's. Paint the coal white........really.

Hence the saying................