Consumer rights:all terrain cycles

stuyd

I bought a bike over the weekend form my local bike shop who i have used for many a year, this morning they have decided they miss sold the bike at the wrong price (cheaper for me) and no longer want to honour the sale.

Any one have any experience of this, i have paid a deposit which citizens advice says forms a contract. If i wanted to cancel the sale i wouldnt get the deposit back.

any help will be greatfully recieved.

nicklouse

what paperwork have you got?

stuyd

reciept for the deposit, stating the price paid and sub total for the bike.

diy

Sorry they are saying that you under paid. and if you cancel they wont refund the deposit?

can't do that.

you are not the one wishing to cancel the contract.

deposits are unilateral its your commitment to them to honour the agreement not theirs to you. Down payment or payment on account is better but that is another story.

Hold their toes to the fire. tell them you want the bike at the agreed price and if they don't sell it to you at that price you'll buy it elsewhere and sue them for your losses for breach of contract. But ultimately its your ticket to haggle and negotiate.

can you post a link to the reference that say the deposit is binding?

stuyd

could do, but it would have my bank details all over it.

Anonymous

put a piece of paper over them or blur them out

bendertherobot

What's the bike and saving?

There are generally two options available IF you sue.

One is specific performance, i.e. forcing them to honour the contract. It's not often granted.

The other is damages. The measure being the difference between the contract price and what you pay elsewhere. So, if you like the "loss of bargain."

How much of a saving are we talking?

Anonymous

I think the issue is that he won't get his deposit back if he cancels, so it's lose-lose for the OP.

bendertherobot

They can't. They either have to accept the contract as stated or refund the deposit.

Anonymous

Precisely. The OP wants to confirm his consumer rights.

slowbike

coriordan wrote:

I think the issue is that he won't get his deposit back if he cancels, so it's lose-lose for the OP.

The OP will get his deposit back. The shop can't withhold it if they've pulled out of the sale.

OP - are you sure they've said the deposit is non-refundable - that is after they've revised their pricing? If they have then you'd have a good case for trading standards and I've no doubt you would get your money back if you had to issue them with a small claims court proceedings.

I can accept that shops can and do make mistakes on pricing from time to time and if it's an LBS that I used frequently then I wouldn't hold them to what sounds like a clear mis-price, however, if they would need to be fair to me if they expected fair play from me and that would include no-quibble deposit back. If they're not willing to do that then it's gloves off time and I'd hit them with trading standards (I have a friend!) and I'd not buy from them again.

bendertherobot

This is from their online terms:

"Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy throughout this website. Pricing can unexpectedly change. In this case we will contact you prior to despatch and allow you the option of accepting the new pricing or selecting an alternative."

That's not compliant with the law either IMO and would almost certainly fall foul of the Unfair Contract Terms Act.

stuyd

Ok stand down guys, they have so far decided to honour the sale. But they won't swap the chainset for a compact as agreed.

It wasn't an online purchase, so my rights stated that by paying the deposit it was a contract.

Kinda feel sorry for the lad who sold me it, basically sold me a team bike, thinking it was a ex demo bike oops.

Anonymous

The thing is, you appear to be reasonable in allowing the shop to withdraw under the basis of it being a mistake.

The fact that they aren't seems a bit weird.

gloomyandy

So I guess now the question is do you force them to stick to the deal (and forever be known as the man that did that), or do you come to some sort of compromise (perhaps including a good deal on other items you may want for the new bike). Hard call, you are certainly within your rights to stick with it, but I guess it depends what sort of relationship (if any) you may want with the shop going forward. Without knowing the people and your relationship with them or the details of the deal it is hard to say. But I wonder how hard they will try if you have say a warranty claim after a few years, if they feel you have been unfair.