When is a sale complete?

singist

singist

singist

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I've been trying to find the relevant law but can't find when a sale of goods is considered complete; any links/advice appreciated.

I have a feeling that some stuff that I ordered was wrongly priced and that the delivery options were wrong too ie Next day courier option cheaper than Royal mail.

It is nothing expensive ~ £20 and it may well be that I have just got a bargain but wondered if they had wrongly advertised online and ACCEPTED PAYMENT the contract was complete?

Ordered goods online and paid via Paypal:
Received confirmation of order from supplier:
Received confirmation of payment from Paypal:

Have had a quick look at distance selling reg's but can't find when the contract is completed; I always thought that once payment had been accepted, they were obliged to deliver the goods; am I correct?

Not going to have a big drama over it either way and haven't even had any indication that they won't deliver but was curious as to when a contract is complete.

Thanks for any input.
 
They can cover their back within their terms and conditions. Probably something like the contract being formed when the product is dispatched. A couple of years ago Argos priced some televisions around 50p and they were not obliged to fulfil orders.
 
I seem to remember something like this they did in an electrical shop. They priced an mp3 player really cheap and once the sale was complete but before giving them item to the customer they would say that it was priced wrong and see what peoples reactions were. Most people didnt know there rights and I remember that once the transation is complete that item is legally yours and no longer the shops, there was one guy who knew this and insisted that he be given the MP3 player as he has completed the transaction and they had to give it to him and he walked out. I am unsure how this works within the distance selling regulations but would imagine it would be the same but i think its more about getting the item in your hands becuase once you have it they cant really have it back.
 
singist said:
It is nothing expensive ~ £20 and it may well be that I have just got a bargain but wondered if they had wrongly advertised online and ACCEPTED PAYMENT the contract was complete?
Click to expand...

To constitute a valid contract there must be an offer, acceptance and maccapacca is right that in England you do need consideration. However there also should be an intention to be bound by the terms of the contract, consensus ad idem is the legal term meaning loosely meeting of the minds and if you've got purchased an item for £20 that should and could be sold at £100 then there's a good chance the seller didn't mean to sell at that price - if that's the case then they probably didn't have any intention of selling at that price. There may well also be contractual terms relating specifically to when the goods tranfer ownership and provided they are not illegal per se then you can expect them to override custom and/or expectation.

They may intend to sell under value or they may feel obligated in terms of good publicity to honour their mistake so it's worth pursuing a little way if the item is a bargain. However that doesn't always actually mean that they have to sell it to you for that price, the taking of payment may be an automatic issue so they will refund your money and be under no legal obligation to sell to you - there may be a moral obligation perhaps but that's not especially meaningful in the discussion.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I'll see if the stuff gets depatched next week: As I said, I don't want to cause a big scene if they refuse but will be telling them to look carefully at their online site to check prices/quatities/delivery prices.
 
The legal point at which the goods become yours is at the point of despatch, they may have something in their terms and conditions that changes the point at which they consider both parties have fully accepted the contract but they can't over-ride the law.

Common misconception that if they've taken your money they have to send you the item even if they made a mistake, etc. the only thing they have to do is either fullfil the contract OR set you back in the original state you were before entering the contract (which means all moneies refunded in full) - its actually a little more complicated than that but most companies are covered in their T&Cs which are legally valid and you agreed to on purchasing the item(s).
 
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