shifting goalposts on online transactions

[jayo70]

Hi,

Im new here, and may have posted this in the wrong place earlier so please forgive any indiscretions.

I am in the middle of a complicated purchase/dispute with an online retailer that is confusing my addled brain so was wondering if anyone here might have a bit of insight into this and help me get some sleep.

I bought a guitar workstation from dv247.com 3 weeks ago for 250 and the money was taken immediately from my credit card. I went away for a few weeks and when I got back it hadn't been delivered so I emailed the company asking for an update on my order. Got an auto reply saying that they would answer my question within 4 hrs but when I hadn't heard anything in a day sent the email off again, this went on for a few days and eventually got a reply saying the product was out of stock and they would ship it as soon as they got it in. The following day got an email saying that their suppliers had upped the cost and the price was now 500, double the original cost and if I still wanted it i would have to make up the cost or I could choose something else form their website for the money I had given them 3 weeks previous.

Can anyone help me out here and tell me if they can do this. I looked at their T&Cs again and it says that when they take the money from my CC its is just as a pre payment and that the contract only starts when they decide it starts. This seems a little unfair to me as surely when I sent them my money we both agreed on a price but 3 weeks later when they have realised that they made a mistake they ask me to pay double.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

 

[Tony]

Hi Jayo, it really depends on whether a contract had been formed and offer and acceptance had taken place. This is not as straightforward as it sounds especially with online transactions. Many retailers protect themselvesfrom pricing errors by ensuring acceptance doesn't happen until the item is shipped.

Tony

 

[jayo70]

Thanks tony, looks like they might be right in that case,
Its just really annoying that they have held onto my money for 3 weeks and can decided at a whim when our contract starts.
I run a small business myself and understand that there needs to be protection for vendors but a floating commencement date for the contract decided on by the more powerful party seems really unfair to me.
Does anyone know if the fact that the price increased on their website nearly two weeks ago and they only informed me when I hassled them has any effect on the matter.
Sorry to keep on about this but it really has annoyed me I've been looking forward to my purchase for weeks and don't want to face the fact its too expensive for me now.
I guess the only option for me now is buying from people I can shake hands with.
Thanks very much