Is this a "loss of bargain" ?

Jul 31, 2004 15 Replies

Any opinions on whether the following is a valid "loss of bargain"?



- Order placed for product at online retailer (website) ["offer to buy"(?)]



- Order confirmed by email from retailer ["Acceptance" - forms contract(?) - email included words such as "confirmation of the receipt of your order", "The products will be delivered to", "The invoice will be sent to" etc]



- Retailer has trouble doing credit check properly, and suggests that the CC has been declined, that the CVV security code is incorrect, and that address details are incorrect.



- Customer telephones CC co, who refute all of the above points. They say that transactions *were* approved and indeed the address was agreed as



*valid* (all logged on their systems). CC co suggest asking retailer to telephone for a manual credit check.

- Retailer refuses to telephone for credit check.



- Product is purchased from competitor online retailer, but cost is slightly higher.



Has the customer the right to sue the first retailer for "loss of bargain" (ie, the difference in cost between the contract formed between them, and the subsequent cost at the final retailer) - due to their refusal to complete the contract ?


In theory maybe but the unrecoverable costs will probably make it pointless.

"Peter Crosland" wrote

Which unrecoverable costs??

Take a look here

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You may well find that the cost of claiming and enforceing the claim are simply not economic.

"Peter Crosland" wrote

The only cost not allowed mentioned there is solicitors fees - I wouldn't use a solicitor!

What else were you thinking about?

Try reading it again. How much are we talking about?

"Peter Crosland" wrote

Yes, so? The only real cost is the small claims fee, which *can* be claimed.

Unless you've noticed something that I've missed??

"Peter Crosland" wrote

It might only be 30-odd, but it's the principle that matters. I'd just like them to realise the error of their ways, and hopefully future potential customers won't be messed about like I was.

Very altruistic but it will not make a scrap of difference. They will probably pay up and carry on as before.

"Peter Crosland" wrote

Even if everyone put into this situation does the same? Won't their expenses (and lost profit!) make it uneconomic?

But not everyone will go to this effort - I have a job to go to and don't have the time to waste taking people to court for 30! As Peter has intimated - go for it if you feel strongly enough about it - seems a waste of effort to me though.

Mc

It is not entirely clear (to me anyway) if there was a contract with the first retailer. The website is likely to be an "invitation to treat". So your completion of the form is likely to be the offer - but the difficulty may be if your offer has been accepted by the e-tailer.

Did you give them an opportunity to fulfil the order? Did you advise them that you would go elsewhere?

"tim" wrote

**No** - if it is someone else wanting me to do something.

**Yes** - if it is *me* who wants to do something!!

"Doug Ramage" wrote

I think that's the biggest question to be answered.

"Doug Ramage" wrote

Agreed.

"Doug Ramage" wrote

Agreed.

"Doug Ramage" wrote

I took the view that the confirmation email, with wording such as "This email is a confirmation of the receipt of your order" and "The products will be delivered to the following address" was evidence of acceptance of the contract.

"Doug Ramage" wrote

(I believe) I gave them ample opportunity - three telephone conversations with them (plus two to ther CC co) to try to resolve situation, and even offered different credit card details. It was their final point-blank refusal to even try to resolve the credit-check that ended the transaction.

"Doug Ramage" wrote

Does that matter?? I did mention that another retailer had the same item for 25 more, but of course I'd prefer to deal with the first retailer and save the 25.

"Doug Ramage" wrote

Hi Doug - thanks for your thoughts.

Let's assume for a minute that the retailer didn't accept my "offer to buy" and there is no contract. In this situation :-

There is no business relationship between us. This makes it no different from the position with anyone of the other millions of people in the country that I don't have a (business) relationship with - if any of those millions tried to access my credit card, it would be classed as fraud (would it not?). So, has the retailer not attempted credit card fraud?

[Several (albeit small) payments were approved on the card, reducing the available credit - even though these payments have not (as yet) actually been taken, the retailer would have no right to have "reserved" the amounts anyway - would they? Or can just *anyone* (without a valid contract with myself) legally access my credit limit??]

Obviously, I only authorised payment to be taken from the credit card on the basis that there was a contract in force - nobody can expect people to authorise payments from their credit cards without a contract in place, surely?

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