Item Purchase Question

[Ref]

Recently I made a purchase from a big box hardware store for an item that was a special order only. The CSR made an error and charged me an incorrect price (I was quoted price per unit instead of foot). I paid by for the order by credit card.

The difference in the final price was significant $700 vs. $100. I had no idea how much the materials cost and the original price quoted seemed reasonable.

They called and explained the error and that they would cancel my order.

Question for the masses - Because I have already paid, should the store honour its original contract price with me?


TIA

 

[bigshot]

I believe that in the case of a product sitting on the shelf, like a can of soup, the store is obligated to charge you the price that is indicated, regardless if their book pricing is higher. In other words, the sign says $1.59, and they have to charge only $1.59. Any other action would be pretty much like a bait & switch.

I don't know what they can do in the event the the CSR just input an incorrect price, but you might have a case. It seems to me that once you've paid for something, it's a contract. On the other hand, it sounds like you have placed an order, but not yet received the goods, so the store might be playing hardball. It's understandable on their part, but I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say based on their own experience.

 

[elwoodinontario]

I believe that in the case of a product sitting on the shelf, like a can of soup, the store is obligated to charge you the price that is indicated, regardless if their book pricing is higher. In other words, the sign says $1.59, and they have to charge only $1.59. Any other action would be pretty much like a bait & switch.

As for your can of soup analogy, the Standard Code of Practise staes any item that scans at a different price than the shelf price is free for the first item.

As for the OPs situation, I personally would pay the corrected price.

 

[Ref]

Funny thing is, it took the CSR about 15 minutes to prepare my bill. It ended up being a 4 page document that identified terms and conditions. The second last term of the document is the acceptance. It states that the agreement cannot be assigned or amended except in writing signed by the customer and the store.

Having this item will save me a day of labour. However if some poor CSR ends up losing his job over a mistake I would rather just cancel the contract.

Does the wording of the contract over rule the fact that the store made an error?

 

[oldjones]

Yes the store should honour the contract. You should refuse to take such over-large advantage of a CSR's mistake. We should all conduct ourselves so as not to need four pages of lawyerese. We should all recognize mistakes happen and try to put them aright w/ the least cost and fuss.

BUT, given the four pages were there, and the CSR insisted that you sign them, I would just love to see you hold them to the deal, and suggest they send the bill for the difference to their legal counsel. Unfortunately, credit card payments can be easily reversed, w/ no way for you to refuse, and you do not have the goods. So you'd be the one running up the first legal bills, trying to get the order.

If you had the goods already, and it was return or further payment being discussed… Well that's when I'd point out a few bucks lost making me a repeat customer is a better investment than what they've spent on bad lawyers already, never mind the first letter from them to you would more than wipe out the oversight.

But that's if there were justice in the world.

 

[The Fruity Hare]

I bought an itemlast week at Canadian Tire, and later realized I had been overcharged a few dollars. I returned yesterday with the receipt and pointed out the mistake. They adjusted the price to the correct amount, then deducted $10 from the total. With the SCOP, you get the first item free up to a maximum of $10. Any amount above that and they take $10 off the total.

Ref, for a big ticket item like that, they usually have a disclaimer saying that they have the right to correct obvious mistakes. This was not a case of B+S lower shelf price, it was apparently human error. A small mistake they can afford to eat, but something this significant is a different story. If it were reversed and they accidently charged you per foot price on a single unit, I'm sure they would refund and correct, which would be fair.

If it is a fair market price, you have lost nothing, except for thinking you had a better price before the mistake was noted.

 

[Cassini]

The store will likely have an out in the contract to the effect of "We reserve the right to cancel the contract in the event of material shortages, strikes, inability to obtain supply, pricing changes, supplier changes, discontinued items, ..."

That would be the stores out.

 

[elwoodinontario]

If you're looking to take advantage of the CSRs mistake, do it. Don't ask our permission.

 

[needinit]

Funny thing is, it took the CSR about 15 minutes to prepare my bill. It ended up being a 4 page document that identified terms and conditions. The second last term of the document is the acceptance. It states that the agreement cannot be assigned or amended except in writing signed by the customer and the store.

Having this item will save me a day of labour. However if some poor CSR ends up losing his job over a mistake I would rather just cancel the contract.

Does the wording of the contract over rule the fact that the store made an error?

I'm sure if the pricing error was the other way (ie you paid $700 up front, but the item was only worth $100) you would not have even heard about it! They would use the wording in the contract as their own justification, so cannot change that now?

 

[Anynym]

You may have a contract, but the price is only one term in the overall contract. And the price quoted is just that - a quote. The final price is usually separate from the quote and may be subject to change until the contract is settled.

Let's imagine a scenario where a CSR wants to offer you a discount - you wouldn't claim that you can't take advantage of the lower price because the quote (in the contract) is at a higher price, would you?

Face it: mistakes happen. Retailers use the rule that "lower posted prices will apply" as a good retail practice, both for customer satisfaction and to keep their own employees on their toes. It helps them to avoid claims of scams and government interference. But in a custom order (not necessarily for a custom item) is a different beast, and it's up to us all as adults to not throw a hissy fit when a simple error occurs.