What are my rights?

Macca

Macca

Macca

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28 Sep 2004
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Wanaka
I was just in town and decided to pop into a few game shops. I was in one of them and noticed a game i've been looking at for a few weeks priced at £34.99. Now this was a sticker added on along with original price of £49.99. There was about 4-5 of same game all with this price sticker on it, so i thought it wasn't a mistake,

I go to pay for the game and it registers as 49.99 and person serving asked his assistant manager why, he started rambling on about weekend special and he cant sell me the game at the lower price. His words were "i'm not selling you the game at that price as it was a weekend special (sticker never said that and there was plenty with the sticker), so you're just leaving the game then?" He then proceeded to the shelf and took all the games off and ripped the stickers off. I was also buying something else, so i just decided to leave it.

should have i have been sold the game at the cheaper price which it was priced as on the shelf, or was he right to refuse me the sale?

Just interested.
 
I think legally he has to sell the game at the advertised price, but what chance have you got of proving it and is it worth the effort to persue?
 
I think previously shops had to honur the price they displayed products at, even if it was a mistake. Now they don't have too and its only at the shops/managers discreation whether they sell you it a reduced rate.
 
I don't think they ever have to sell it to you at that reduced price. When you enter the store you get an "invitation to buy" items in the shop but they aren't obliged to sell you anything so they can withdraw any offers at any time, or something like that I think. That's what my old manager told me anyway when I worked in retail, about 10 years ago so it might have changed.
 
Clark Nova said:
I don't think they ever have to sell it to you at that reduced price. When you enter the store you get an "invitation to buy" items in the shop but they aren't obliged to sell you anything so they can withdraw any offers at any time, or something like that I think. That's what my old manager told me anyway when I worked in retail, about 10 years ago so it might have changed.
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This is correct. The price is only an "invitation to treat" to use lawspeak.

Imagine you were walking past a Porsche garage and all of the numbers had fallen off the price display on one of the cars except for one and it read £5. Do you think a court would make the garage sell a car worth tens of thousands of pounds for a fiver because of a mistake?
 
Joebob said:
I think legally he has to sell the game at the advertised price, but what chance have you got of proving it and is it worth the effort to persue?
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No, unless you can prove that it wasn't a simple mistake and the retailer was intentionally trying to defraud people through false advertising. If the manager removed the sticker once he was made aware of the error then you've not got a leg to stand on.

Andybtsn said:
I think previously shops had to honur the price they displayed products at, even if it was a mistake. Now they don't have too and its only at the shops/managers discreation whether they sell you it a reduced rate.
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Nah, it's always been the case. As has been said, the legalese terminology is "invitation to treat". The retailer can choose to refuse to sell you an item and he's well within his rights. The legal precedents date back a fair while... Fisher versus Bell is one of the popular cases, as is the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain versus Boots the Chemists.

However, you're right that the manager may choose - purely at his discretion - to honour the price. Supermarkets often do this, because of the goodwill factor, i.e. you get a pack of loo roll for free but at least you're more likely to go back and do your shopping at their supermarket in the future.
 
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I was just curious to where i stood in the matter, reason i wanted to check was this assistaint manager is a bit of a **** anyway. And the fact there was nothing stating the price was a special offer limited to any period annoyed me.

Thanks for the responses:).
 
You could write to their head office complaining about his behaviour.

Address your letter to the company director and I'll bet you'll either get a voucher for money off or some other freebie.
 
GarethDW said:
Fisher versus Bell is one of the popular cases, as is the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain versus Boots the Chemists.
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Are you American?

Sorry, but this is a pet hate of mine. It's 'Fisher v Bell' and if you need to say the case name out loud it's 'Fisher AND Bell'.

</rant>
 
They have no legal obligation to sell at a price, it is an invitation to sell only.

You can probably get it online for cheaper than you were going to pay in the shop anyway.
 
Metalface Mark said:
They have no legal obligation to sell at a price, it is an invitation to sell only.

You can probably get it online for cheaper than you were going to pay in the shop anyway.
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I've not seen it anywhere for cheaper thats why i decided to buy....until i got home tonight :p:D. So i've ordered it now anyway.

I'm not too bothered about it now, but i hate the guy who refused to sell me it, so was just checking if i had a come back to pee him off, the head manager is great so would have spoke to her tomorrow.
 
Shops don't have any obligation so sell you anything at all if they don't want to.

I got really annoyed at my old boss for this, she was convinced that she HAD to sell them it at a lower price if something was labelled incorrectly :rolleyes:
 
All adverts of pricing on the shelves are classed as "Invitations to treat". You don't have a contract until you get to the desk and hand over the cash they ask for.

Edit: GarethDW already said it :P Looks like my Elements of English law module for my accounting course is paying off.
 
If trading standards went into that shop and checked the marked price against the price on the till and found it was wrong the comapany could be fined up to £5000 per item.

I believe this is the Consumer Protection Act.

However, just because they are breaking the law doesn't give you an entitlement to a cheaper product.

The invitation to treat thingy is there for good reason, because once an offer is made it stands until it is either declined, withdrawn or accepted. After it is accepted it can not be withdrawn by the offerer. Therefore in your case you offer to pay the shop the invitation to treat price, they may or may not accept it. If it wasn't like that and the price tag was a legal offer a 12 year old could go into an off licence and accept an offer to buy Vodka, the retailer would not be permitted to refuse.
 
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