Can I force a shop to sell to me?

[Licinius]

I recently ordered some goods online, selected the correct address etc & paid for the goods including p&p charges. The money was debited from my a/c & I received confirmation of my order.

 

Thank You...

 

Your order ''TC - 00001732'' has been successfully received.

 

You can view this order, and track any other orders, by logging into our online shop with your registration details (email address and password) and accessing the ''My Orders'' section under ''My Account''.

 

Any update on the order’s progress will be sent to you via email including when the item is dispatched.

 

Thank you and do shop again with us some time soon.

 

Regards...............

 

Then I got this email

 

Many thanks for your website order. Due to the weight of the items we will need to send your order in two parcels which would mean an extra £9.95 postal charge

 

We could not agree resolution, my stance is that they accepted my order & took payment therefore owe me the goods, their stance is that unless I agreed to pay the extra charge, the would cancel my order & refund my money which has now happened.

 

Can I pursue compensation for breach or contract? This might seem petty but because of the messing around, items I ordered for xmas will now not be delivered in time.

[transient]

No you cannot. The contract is not formed until the goods are dispatched. It is irrelevant that your card has been debited.

[lookinforinfo]

Is their a caveat in their Terms and Conditions that they can amend their postal charges because of weight or the number of items ordered for example. Perhaps you could have picked them up yourself

or sent your own courier instead?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Very considerate company imo, pay the charge if you want the goods.

[lookinforinfo]

No you cannot. The contract is not formed until the goods are dispatched. It is irrelevant that your card has been debited.

 

Transient I do not know if you are right but your statement appears to fly in the face of this website.

ww.onlineshoppingrights.co.uk/selling-online-forming-and-concluding-a-contract-with-the-buyer.html

 

When the consumer offers to purchase the goods or services, legally the seller is not obliged to accept their offer. As aforementioned, the contract is only made and begins once the seller has accepted the offer of purchase.

 

If the OP has confirmation from the traders bank that payment has been made as well as confirmation of the order from the trader too that would, to my eyes, confirm that the offer to purchase has been accepted.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

The company is not refusing to sell the item.

[Licinius]

Very considerate company imo, pay the charge if you want the goods.

 

I did pay the charges, but these changed AFTER I had purchased.

 

Transient I do not know if you are right but your statement appears to fly in the face of this website.

ww.onlineshoppingrights.co.uk/selling-online-forming-and-concluding-a-contract-with-the-buyer.html

 

When the consumer offers to purchase the goods or services, legally the seller is not obliged to accept their offer. As aforementioned, the contract is only made and begins once the seller has accepted the offer of purchase.

 

If the OP has confirmation from the traders bank that payment has been made as well as confirmation of the order from the trader too that would, to my eyes, confirm that the offer to purchase has been accepted.

 

That was my understanding of the law too Info & yes I do have the appropriate evidence, both confirmation of the order and the relevant financial transactions.

 

My next question then is what would be deemed 'reasonable' compensation & how do I calculate it?

Edited December 23, 2012 by Licinius

[steampowered]

You need to check the T&Cs carefully. Making payment often means a contract has been formed but this is not necessarily the case. Most online T&Cs now state that the retailer does not formally accept your order and enter into a contract until it actually despatches the goods. Your confirmation email only says "Your order has been successfully received", it does not say the order was accepted. If their T&Cs does not protect them, then your compensation would be a refund of the £9.95 postage charge.

 

If you are not happy then cancel your order, ask for a refund and shop elsewhere.

[lookinforinfo]

The company is not refusing to sell the item.

 

I agree, but they are refusing to sell at the price they quoted on their website.

[Licinius]

I agree, but they are refusing to sell at the price they quoted on their website.

 

Which if I'm not mistaken is illegal????????????????

[Consumer dude]

Which if I'm not mistaken is illegal????????????????

 

In my humble opinion, they have accepted your order if they have taken your money..

[transient]

They are not refusing to sell at the price of the product as mentioned and therefore not illehgal as also mentioned. They are making an additional charge for carriage which has nothing to do with product price.

 

They are well within their rights as I said earlier the contract is not formed until despatch.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

The price of the item remains the same, only the carriage cost is different!!

[ericsbrother]

No-one is forced to sell you anything. They have offered a refund and it is called a frustrated contract as it hasnt been concluded. It isnt very good customer relations but I suppose it depends on the value of the order as to whether they think it worthwhile losing the business. i wouldnt charge a customer more postage than originally quoted because the increased value of the goods will compensate.

[assisted blonde]

Although payment had been taken it dosnt actually always mean that the contract is completed, there must be both offer and acceptance. with a lot of mail order companies the email will state that your order has been accepted but no contract will normally exist until the goods are despatched, up until that time either party can withdraw from the purchase/sale