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Price advertised not being honoured on website

Ray Palmer

I know this issue has probably brought up before but I can't seem to find it

Went to a website logged into my account and looked up an upgrade option which I was pleasantly surprised showed the the phone I wanted for X which was a very good price because the same offer with a monthly charge twice my current plan was also shown. I selected the current plan I had but at that point the checkout price showed up a different price roughly 65% higher.

I now there is probably a statement on the website saying prices maybe a mistake and it is an offer to tender which can be refused at checkout but read on for the description of my interaction and it might make a difference. You can skip all the detail if you want as marked

>>>>skip

I contact the chat service where the 1st rep doesn't listen and proceeds to try and complete the sale for me as if I just couldn't use the website as opposed to the price being shown to me. He proceeds to check the offers out but doesn't understand I am being offered a price on the website. He basically thinks I am misreading the advertisements on the site and the "from" price is what I am talking about. I found his language a bit flowery but misplaced. For example I am telling him it isn't a "from" price and his response was "sorry you feel that way..." and I asked him not to assume how I felt but he kept doing it. So after asking to speak to somebody else 4 times until he eventually passes me to the supervisor.

Rep 2 Starts chatting and proceeds to explain how "from" prices work and how he is "Sorry you feel low about the price..." and "People who work here would love to get the phone at that price..." It doesn't matter that I explain it is a "for" price and the guy apparently read the earlier transcript. He offers to have the loyalty team to contact me. That was on Thursday

Friday rep 3 talks to me and explains the current prices and that he can give me a tiny of money off for customer satisfaction but again explains "from" price. I again explain that is not the case and he says he will get a manger to ring me within 2 hours.

Tuesday I get an email from rep 4 (not sure if they are a manager) telling me they reviewed interactions and that it had been explained to be a "from" price and there is no fault on their website. I go back to the website and try again and while the route I first went through to the phone was now gone I went another route (nothing sneaky just the advert link I used to get the price had been moved so another click was involved). Again the price I wanted came up and it is said "for" directly above it. Sent the screen shot of the first attempt to buy and the second attempt but the screens were different with one showing a price on my plan and the the other explicitly having the text "for". Now they say sorry for the miscommunication and they will back to me shortly.

Wednesday no response from them but the website has been changed

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Phone advertised at a price on my plan the reps keep telling me I am misreading the website turns out they never checked. After some days and seeing the screen shot they changed the site and have yet to contact me.

Do they have to sell at that price?

As a good will gesture should they sell it to me at that price?

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bucketybuck

No. And no.

[Deleted User]

An advertised price is essentially an "Invitation to treat" in contract law and no more op.

Google is your friend.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485855#Comment_119485855

Yeah I gathered they would have coverage but many companies have honoured their mistakes. I genuinely think the service I received was terrible and insulting to my intelligence. There was definitely an element of English non native speakers. I worked in a call centre for a few years and we were always careful to say " I think I understand your issue and will see what we can do" as opposed to " I understand your issue and you do not get that price" Huge difference in tone and meaning

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485843#Comment_119485843

Thanks for your amazing input

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485895#Comment_119485895

The poster answered your question without any waffle.

Answer is simply No and No.

Xterminator

OP if you feel they are insulting your intellegence and offering terrible customer service, then i would reccomend you take your business elsewhere.

it has already been made clear that they have no legal obligation to you. I take it you accept the situation for what it is. you can take your complaint to the top and they might relent, and i would say you are within your rights to express your dissapointment at the handling of the situation.

It seems to me if they get your money you are rewarding them with your business. the strongest card you have is to take your business elsewhere.

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485895#Comment_119485895

The answer is the answer.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485959#Comment_119485959

Probably what I will be doing.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485895#Comment_119485895

You asked two direct questions, you got the only relevant answers. Don't cry because you don't like them.

Frankly, from your long winded OP it seems clear that every single time you contacted the company they informed you what the correct price was. You already know mistakes in advertising are not binding in law but you want to waste everyone's time looking for a loophole that suits you. They would have been better off just telling you "no" a week ago.

PalLimerick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485895#Comment_119485895

You just don't like the honest truth. The member although posted a short reply is right. You come across as a bit of a chancer.

wpd

report them to advertising standards if they are a large company

wont get you the deal but will give them a lot of fustration which it sounds they have caused you

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485991#Comment_119485991

I found three faults on their website that they have paid professionals to prevent. Found flaws in their customer service processes. That is worth a lot to the company. What makes me seem like a chancer? The process isn't over I am not sure if it is considered false advertisement as they were given days to address it and didn't.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119486015#Comment_119486015

even if it is shown to be false advertising that still wont get you the phone at the price you want.

beachhead

a complaint to the ASAI for false advertising will earn them a little wrist slap,won't get you the phone but I would still complain.Maybe they will learn english terminology.

Cabaal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119485892#Comment_119485892

Few problems with your example

Saying what you say you were told to say in a call centre suggests there is an alternative, its incorrectly setting a customer expectation that they might get the thing they want or maybe a goodwill gesture.

What you were told was correct atleast.

ThreeGreens

Is it the case that the phone you want is available at that price, but only if you choose a more expensive monthly plan?

That's quite common with phone offers.

Can you post a link to the offer website?

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119487934#Comment_119487934

The point is you do not say you are sure of something unless you are. In this case the reps did not understand the issue but repeatedly told me incorrectly they did and didn't listen because they assumed the issue from the start.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119487952#Comment_119487952

I don't know if you fully read my initial post but you may have missed the point that it explicitly said "For" on my current plan as opposed to "From" which is common in ads. You can't see the offer as it involves my personal account and phone package.

I am pretty sure I know how the issue arose from an IT perspective. I am on an old plan that they must keep me on until I decide to change. As it involves so few customers nobody tested the pricing model against it. The old plan is been seen by the system as the same as the higher plan so offering that price. Meanwhile the checkout has a different calculation and doesn't put the displayed price into the checkout.

It is now changed but also not showing the price they will sell at. I have actually since found several other bugs on their website. It turns out I know the head of testing in the company so I may just contact him directly to let him know.

People make mistakes but the poor customer service without investigation has annoyed me. Their staff repeatedly told me I was wrong without looking up what I was telling them.

The Continental Op

I think OP you are missing another point here.

If you were given the item at the price advertised someone would have to admit to management that they made a mistake. Then managers would want to know what went wrong. In some companies and I can think of one mobile phone company in particular it seems that everything they do is right and that they can't be wrong, so its your fault.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119488434#Comment_119488434

I have worked in IT a long time and know how these things work very well. It really doesn't go in to a blame game as it is very rarely an individuals fault and most often down to a group decision or known risk. It may appear to be a big deal at some lower levels but it really isn't and they have budgets for mistakes and customer care issues. Generally what will happen is some new process will be brought in until somebody doesn't see the point and drops it, happens again and the process is brought back in then risen and repeat. Sometimes the underlying issue is address permanently but if it is too timely/costly they just accept the risks.

A week is a long time to know your prices are wrong on the website to do nothing about it. From the company's point of view I guess they only knew from Tuesday but that was because their own representatives failed to investigate properly from the start.

antfin

Is it possible that the "for" price was linked to some terms and conditions, one of which may have been that to avail of the price you must also signup to a specific monthly plan and for a minimum period? Usually there is T&Cs attached to all offers including, inter alia, a specific plan and minimum contract and the specifics will be linked elsewhere on the site.

In either case I would say the answer to your questions is 1) No and 2) No. Your options depend on how much more time you want to burn chasing a result that will not get you the price that you want.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119488518#Comment_119488518

No it is not possible they have admitted I did not misunderstand the screen and that they assumed incorrectly I had. It is a "for" price on my plan.

I accept that legally they don't have to honour it but I find it strange how quick people are to say no they should not do it as a good will gesture. There is a series of mistakes and bad handling they made not just the price. Having worked in customer service this is not uncommon but obviously other feel differently.

I wouldn't be so sure I won't get the price as this is not my first time dealing with bad customer service and got the price I wanted. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. I haven't mentioned the company nor publicly done anything. I won't do anything publicly because I know people working there but companies don't like bad publicity. It boils down to huge failures in the company and an innocent customer being told they were being stupid for not understanding. It seems people think that is fine and I am just being unreasonable along with making the same claims as the company that I don't know how to read a website.

It's been a week of failures to address the issue. Not sure why people seem so accepting

antfin

Must be a very significant discount to waste so much time on it even if it's possible that you might be right about it! Are we talking €500, €600 discount or that region? Good luck with your crusade anyway.

bucketybuck

I still haven't seen any bad handling, just a customer who didn't like the answer.

"A week of failure to address the issue". It was addressed day one. You contacted them, they immediately told you the correct price, you want it to be something else so you are calling it bad service.

The worst part of business continues to be the customers.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119488673#Comment_119488673

It amuses me at this point. So silly to call it a crusade I am not a push over that is all. Little more than that amount Doesn't take that much time at all. Spent more time here talking about it so little effort. It is also not a discount it is the price I was/am offered. While some people get angry and upset I am not either so it is very easy just to state facts.

They contacted me just now to effectively ask me to write up a bug report with screen shots for them. The customer service is appalling

antfin

Sounds like you got a series of agents that weren't adequately trained in how to quickly deal with an awkward customer. They really should have been able to close you down on the initial query rather than burning time on escalating it! When the sense of entitlement is strong the scripts rarely are sufficient and that's where training kicks in!

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119488758#Comment_119488758

How was I awkward? They misunderstood because they ASSUMED I couldn't read a website and did no investigation. Ever rep did the same thing which was 4 including a manger who read and investigated everything according to them. They didn't investigate it. How would they have been able to close it down at the start?

Who has a sense of entitlement here? Do you think it is unreasonable to ask why a price advertised is not going into the checkout basket when selected? There are a lot of people out there using phrases they don't understand

antfin

Yes, I think that anyone that feels entitled to be provided with an item that is obviously priced too low by mistake, or otherwise, at the lower price has a sense of entitlement! A "sense of entitlement" is a simple enough phrase to understand, ie when one feels entitled to something! Are you now saying that you don't feel entitled to the item at the price and terms that you originally perceived it to be?

Asking why the price is different is one thing. Insisting that it be honoured, or expecting that it be honoured, to me, would seem as though one feels entitled to it!

Doodah7

And you wonder why staff in call centres hate their job when they have to deal with the likes of the OP on a daily basis...

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119488848#Comment_119488848

They must hate me as well as I make a habit of making a complaint when something is wrong. The fix is simple all that the call center staff have to do is their job without condescendingly ignoring what the customer is telling them. If they can't check the voracity of the customers statement then they need to tell the customer that and to be able to escalate the issue to someone that can.

The problem is the call center reps are screwed by their own management who often don't give them anyway of escalating a genuine issue.