Consumer law.
I bought a mobile yesterday, on a contract. However, the shop later phoned, and told me they had made a mistake. For what I'd paid, I was due an inferior phone.
The tariff was clearly displayed, only the price ticket had been wrongly placed. This was after I'd signed the contract/credit agreement. They gave me a sd card for pissing me about however.
Surely, if something is displayed at a price, they are legally obliged to sell it at that? I argued for ages but they wouldn't budge, saying they were allowed to make a reasonable mistake.
It's not a lot of money, tbh, but it's the principle of the thing. Plus, I like complaining.
(Bear Pookie The Frankly Challenged. Halloween is coming to town., Wed 16 Dec 2009, 10:43, 12 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Just write a formal complaint.
I think they have a point, but most big companies will back down if it goes through their customer service people.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 10:45, Reply)

Make a formal complaint to the store,
head office and the manufacturer of the phone. And CC each other on the letter.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 10:49, Reply)

Aim High
Make sure it is addressed to the Managing Director, try to get his name if possible.
( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 10:52, Reply)

There's no point contacting the manufacturer, they have nothing to do with the sale of the item and will probably just ignore you or at best tell you it's nothing to do with them.
It could be argued that the network (if, in this case, the phone has been sold by a third-party store and not a network-specific store) has more of a responsibility in this situation as the contract but it's not really their problem either. The agreement between the network and the retailer will state that it's the retailer's responsibility to ensure that all sales on the network's behalf are carried out correctly and legally and, therefore, any issues of mis-selling cannot be deemed to be the network's responsibility.

Consumer laws state that it is the retailer that is the point of contact for the customer, therefore any issues with the manner in which the item was sold are between the retailer and the customer and have nothing to do with any other parties.
(Pope Jamiroquai III, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 22:15, Reply)

This is a tricky one.
It's not one of those 'TV advertised for 10p by mistake' things. The idea that the retailer is obliged to honour that price is nonsense.

You are in possession of a legally binding contract: how far would you get calling them in a few days asking to cancel the contract because you made a mistake? Fucking nowhere.

Did your heels in and take it as far as you can - once you get past the entry level customer service people it actually gets easier.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 10:52, Reply)

Hmm.
I believe that a price display is merely considered a point at which to start negotiations for a sale, so a shop can refuse to honour it. In fact, they can refuse to deal with you at all for any reason, so a misplaced sign is a legitimate cause for them to renege on an offer up to the point of sale.

After you've signed a contract, however, they've made the sale and are just as bound by its terms as you are. It depends on the terms of the contract, so reread it and see if you have the legal backup to chase them. It may be that the contract is only valid from first payment or other such nonsense.

I am not a lawyer. This should be evident from the wittering above.
(ThomsonsPier consumes, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 10:55, Reply)

^ This
Check the contract. Although it's legally binding, there is likely to be a get out clause somewhere which allows the retailer (or you) to cancel the contract within a certain time for specified reasons.

But it's worth a letter to the boss anyway.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 11:00, Reply)

My guess is
that if the model of phone is named in the contract, you have them.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 11:01, Reply)

My guess is they'd thought of that and put some clauses in the contract to get the out of it.

(PsychoChomp, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 11:10, Reply)

It seems as if...
even though the ticket was in the wrong place(which can happen a lot), surely they should have noticed when they put through your sale? Even then, seeing as you signed a contract with them, you should technically be allowed to keep the more expensive phone as you both agreed on it at the time.

I would suggest kicking up a fuss and seeing how far you can take it though :P
(brightspark, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 11:08, Reply)

Post your story on consumer action group.
you ought to get a more thorough answer there.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 14:27, Reply)

Can you be a little clearer?
You're already home with the phone and a signed contract?
If that's the case, then there's very little they can do and if you took the phone back, then more fool you.

If however you have seen a price and they then refuse to sell the product at the price, that's probably perfectly legal as most retailers have a disclaimer in/on their catalogues/leaflets that states that prices displayed, whilst accurate at the time of printing, are subject to change at any time with no prior notice and, therefore, the prices on their till/computer systems are final (with exceptions for the likes of manager's discretion etc).
Also, a retailer is (I believe) allowed to remove an item from sale rather than sell it at a specific price.

As for the contract, it may not mention the model of phone.
The reason being that the contract is an agreement for the network to provide a certain level of service for a specific cost - the handset is not an integral part of the agreement, hence why the loss of, breaking of, damage to or any other problems with the handset is not grounds to cancel the contract.
(Pope Jamiroquai III, Wed 16 Dec 2009, 22:09, Reply)