A bit of consumer advice please

[Dankology]

I pre-ordered a digital piano from a local independent store just over two months ago for £750 and the money was debited from my account there and then.

Twice I've rung them to follow-up on the order as no updates were forthcoming but I remained patient, knowing that there has been something of a rush on these instruments in the last year or so. Another local store has had the same model in stock for the same price for the last few weeks but I decided to stay loyal and wait for the original shop to get hold of stock.

They phoned this afternoon to say that it was ready to pick up. Hurrah. But they phoned back literally two minutes later to say that they'd charged me the wrong price back in May and that I needed to pony up something like another £120.

So I'm feeling like a bit of a chump now. I've told them to hang fire while I consider my options - the other retailer now has it for sale for £780 so I reckon my options are:

1) insist that they stick to my original price (a quick Google suggests that I might be entitled to do this)

2) ask them to price-match the other store

3) Cancel the order and buy from the other place in the hope that their "in stock, guaranteed immediate delivery" promise is indeed true. 

Anyone know where I stand legally/morally/practically?

[Pseudonym]

Caveat: this is not legal advice.

I think this comes down to whether there is a contract on the basis that you have already paid for it.  If there is, and given that at the price you paid you reasonably assumed that was the correct price (and not an error), the company is bound to honour it.  That does not mean they would.  If the contract would depend upon delivery, then there is no contract and they must refund the money you paid upon cancellation by either party.

It is unacceptable for them to pull this stroke, in my view.  Were I in your position, I would give them a choice on the spot: supply the piano at the price you paid, or else refund the money immediately.  But I doubt they have a valid basis for taking the money and then trying to shake you down for more.  They might have a valid basis for cancelling the order, in which case you must receive an immediate refund.

Personally, I would insist that they honour what you regard as an agreement (do not concede ground on the price-matching point), and point out their weak position in law should they prove reluctant.  If they won't budge, get an immediate refund and call the other place quickly.

There is no way I would pay extra money to these people.

[TheGreek]

Go to the CAB website and check your statutory rights but IIRC they sold you the item at the price you paid - they can't add money after the fact.

 

[CookPassBabtridge]

If they value your custom they should honour the original price they quoted and you paid. Asking you to pay more after the fact isn't on, regardless of the circumstance. This has happened to me in a couple of guises in the past. I've argued that changing the price after the fact wasn't fair and they relented pretty quick.

So yeah, as others have said - insist they stick to the original price and failing that demand a refund and take your business elsewhere.

[Elfrasho]

Did you get a receipt at the time? 

[Velarian]

The constituent parts of a legally binding contract are: -

1. Offer
2. acceptance
3. consideration
4. consensus

In this case you offered to make the purchase and in exchange for receiving the goods later paid the value of the goods (the consideration). They accepted your payment and unless they explicitly said it was a deposit or down payment then I would argue you have an enforceable contract. There is an earlier step which is not part of the contract itself but it is material and this how were the goods advertised or presented for sale? This is known as an invitation to treat. If you were enticed to buy the goods because the price was advertised, displayed or mentioned then you should be able rely on that as part of the pre-contact negotiations.

unless any other limiting terms or conditions were made clear at the time of your order I think you probably have a good case. 
 

BTW this isn’t legal advice - I started a legal exec course about 30 odd years ago (didn’t finish it though) and this was one of the few things that stuck in my mind. 😂

Good luck and let us know how you get on. 

[Velarian]

One more thing - did you pay by credit card? Is so, then the credit card company is jointly and severally liable under S75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. You can raise it with them. This protection doesn’t apply to debit card payments unfortunately. It’s always worth using a credit card in these situations even if you intend to pay the credit card in full immediately. 

[Downunderwonder]

17 minutes ago, Velarian said:

The constituent parts of a legally binding contract are: -

1. Offer
2. acceptance
3. consideration
4. consensus

In this case you offered to make the purchase and in exchange for receiving the goods later paid the value of the goods (the consideration). They accepted your payment and unless they explicitly said it was a deposit or down payment then I would argue you have an enforceable contract. There is an earlier step which is not part of the contract itself but it is material and this how were the goods advertised or presented for sale? This is known as an invitation to treat. If you were enticed to buy the goods because the price was advertised, displayed or mentioned then you should be able rely on that as part of the pre-contact negotiations.

unless any other limiting terms or conditions were made clear at the time of your order I think you probably have a good case. 
 

BTW this isn’t legal advice - I started a legal exec course about 30 odd years ago (didn’t finish it though) and this was one of the few things that stuck in my mind. 😂

Good luck and let us know how you get on. 

We covered that contract stuff in highschool economics classes. Unsurprisingly identical in NZ.

[Elfrasho]

34 minutes ago, Velarian said:

One more thing - did you pay by credit card? Is so, then the credit card company is jointly and severally liable under S75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. You can raise it with them. This protection doesn’t apply to debit card payments unfortunately. It’s always worth using a credit card in these situations even if you intend to pay the credit card in full immediately. 

Well only if there's a breach or misrep. Your bank (whether its a cc or a debit card) will do a charge back if they believe there's a good prospect of success first. 

[Velarian]

5 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

Well only if there's a breach or misrep.

Indeed, at the back of my mind I was thinking of a worse case scenario where the OP doesn’t get the goods for the original price and then struggles to get a refund. 

[Dankology]

Thanks for the replies. 

To answer the points raised above: the price was advertised online so I sent an email, the shop replied to say that it could be pre ordered at the listed price over the phone.

I did so that day and tried to play by credit card, as I always do in order to gain extra protection. Unfortunately (and oddly), the payment would not go through so I used my debit card instead. No receipt was sent.

The piano is now listed on their website for something like £950 - ie more than they are currently trying to charge me. The other shop has had the exact same model for sale for £750 during recent weeks so I don't think anyone could argue that the price was clearly an error.

Ta for all the advice - I'm going to phone tomorrow and give them the choice of honouring the original price or refunding me. Will report back...

[nikon F]

6 hours ago, Dankology said:

 

Ta for all the advice - I'm going to phone tomorrow and give them the choice of honouring the original price or refunding me. Will report back...

and if it was me i'd also tell them i was going to name and shame and tell the whole world what a bunch of shysters i think they are .

Edited July 16, 2021 by nikon F

[Dankology]

I rang the shop back this morning and basically told them I wanted a refund. I explained my disappointment with the sequence of events and the salesman had the temerity to suggest that I had only paid a deposit for the piano - a 90% deposit...

He got a bit stroppy when I said I just wanted to draw a line under things and re-took my payment details in that clipped, disgusted way that only employees of the most prestigious establishments can muster. It was all a bit Mitchell and Webb.

Anyway,  Forsyth's of Manchester, I realize that my custom might pale next to that of some of your clientele but I've still got a lot of strings, instruments and amps to buy over the next 30 or so years- and they'll be being bought elsewhere. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Dankology

[CookPassBabtridge]

Sounds like you’re better off without them, what a poor example of customer service. At least you have got your money back and can buy the piano elsewhere now. 

[zbd1960]

I've only ever had to hire concert grand pianos from Forsyth's and found them very helpful (and in case you're wondering, the cost of moving a grand piano is more than the hiring cost).

Nevertheless, that's poor service. 

[Pseudonym]

8 hours ago, zbd1960 said:

I've only ever had to hire concert grand pianos from Forsyth's and found them very helpful (and in case you're wondering, the cost of moving a grand piano is more than the hiring cost).

Nevertheless, that's poor service. 

That salesman could end up costing his employer a lot more than a lost "deposit".