Bafflement tinged with irritation

[Lynne]

Now I know my maths is poor, but I do know a little about consumer law.

I've just come back from the Gap Outlet shop in Lewisham.

Garment in question ?39.99 with a 50% Off ticket.

Man at till "That'll be ?43.99,please"

"Hang on, I says, "it was only ?39.99 to start with"

"Oh" Re-does till "That'll be ?23.99."

"That's not 50% off", I remark, rather coldly by now

"No, it should only be 40% off. It's headquarter's fault"

"That's illegal to display one price and charge another" (coldness merging into annoyance.)

"No,we have 24 hours to rectify it. We have rights too"

Customer service?

[TheArtfulDogger]

From the citizen advice website on the matter (https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/if-something-is-advertised-at-the-wrong-price/)

If you take an item to the till and are told the price on the tag or label is a mistake, you don?t have a right to buy the item at the lower price. You could still try asking the seller to honour the price.

[LadyNorwood]

From my A level law days, the price on a ticket is an "invitation to treat" and not binding - maybe things have changed?

[peckham_ryu]

LadyN has it. Offer and acceptance happens at the till.

It's still annoying though!

[Lynne]

Ah

In my innocence I thought you paid what the shop asked

[Robert Poste's Child]

It is annoying and you do sometimes wonder if they do it deliberately. Today I tried to buy 6 items from Superdrug, of which 5 were more expensive at the till, making the total cost >30% over what I expected.

[ianr]

> It is annoying and you do sometimes wonder if they do it deliberately. Today I tried to

> buy 6 items from Superdrug, of which 5 were more expensive at the till, making the total

> cost >30% over what I expected.

If it is done deliberately or recklessly I think it could even be an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. It would be relevant to see if it's occurring in more than one branch. In any case it's contrary to official guidance on proper practice.

"2.1 Indicating two different prices

2.1.1 The CPRs prohibit traders from giving misleading information about prices, which could include indicating a price for goods or services which is lower than the one that actually applies, where this would cause, or be likely to cause, the consumer to take an different transactional decision. In many cases, a different transactional decision is likely to mean whether or not to buy a product, but it could include other decisions taken about transactions.

2.1.2 You should not therefore show one price in an advertisement, website, window display, shelf marking or on the item itself, and then charge a higher price at the point of sale or checkout." https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31900/10-1312-pricing-practices-guidance-for-traders.pdf

See also http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-protection-from-unfair-trading-regulations-2008 re additions to the regulations.

In practice I'd expect any reputable chain to honour the shelf price unless it's a crazy one, and maybe throw in an ex gratia something if you take it up with head office. Failing that, or if it seems serious or persistent, you can always just pass on the information to local Trading Standards, http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200098/trading_standards/1462/1_information_for_consumers.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Sainsburys at DKH refunds you the difference if you catch them out, which lucky as it does happen fairly regularly there too. I believe Waitrose refunds you the entire cost of the item; did for me at least. It was only a couple of quid but still impressive.