Substitution of Product

[gmgs11]

In their current catalogue,

 

Argos advertised a Bosch Cordless Garden Trimmer in a featured spread at £24.99.

 

I reserved the product by telephone to collect from my local branch.

 

I went to the branch,

quoted my reservation number,

paid for the product,

collected the boxed product and left the store.

 

On my way back to my car, I noticed the word "corded", rather than " cordless".

Believing that the wrong product had been selected from the warehouse,

I returned to the store.

 

I was told that there had been a pricing error in the catalogue,

and that the product I had expected should be £99.99.

 

The product I was sold had been allocated the same catalogue number,

and I was told that I should have been made aware of the substitution at the till.

 

I was not, and not when making my resignation.

 

They told me that they could only offer a refund, which I was obliged to accept, as the substituted product in no way matched what I was expecting.

 

Reluctantly, I had my money back and wrote to Argos Customer Service, who merely apologised.

 

Do I have any further rights in this matter?

[BazzaS]

The advert is an "invitation to treat".

However, in response to that invitation you offered them £24.99 for a cordless trimmer.

They accepted the £24.99 for a cordless trimmer.

(BTW keep the advert, and what does the receipt say?)

 

If they made an error then they could have corrected it up until they took your £24.99 for a cordless trimmer.

 

You should have stood your ground.

 

However, in accepting the money back you have agreed to the cancelling of the contract. If you had not you could insist on the cordless model , but are now subject to their discretion / mercy .

[rebel11]

Argos have a habit of substituting generic products for branded products, you think you are getting what you have purchased, but they have supplied something different, you don't notice until you get home, some people just think, 'it will do the job', don't bother returning or complaining.

[gmgs11]

Thanks BazzaS for your comments. I do have the original advertisement, as it is in the current catalogue. The receipt merely states the catalogue number followed by the description "Bosch Trimmer", which describes both the advertised product and the one I received, as it mentions neither " cordless" nor "corded". The person at the store would not change the product when asked, and customer service said much the same. The only option I was offered was to take a refund or keep the corded product, which was useless for purpose intended. Checking online, the original catalogue number that I used, has been allocated to the product I received, whilst the product I was expecting now has a new number. If a printing error was discovered, why not remove the original catalogue number from use, instead of causing these problems. Do I have any recourse, now that I have received a refund?

[BazzaS]

No recourse once both parties to the contract have mutually agreed to void the contract