Your rights: pricing disputes FAQs

The wrong label

I picked up a leather jacket in store which had a price tag of £40 on it. When I took it to the till the assistant said that it had been labelled incorrectly and the actual price was £90. Surely I am entitled to buy it for £40?

Unfortunately not. When a retailer displays goods for sale they are, by law, simply inviting you to make an offer to buy. They are then fully within their rights to refuse your offer, for example, if the goods have been priced incorrectly.

Paying for their mistake

I ordered some new furniture last month and, after talking with the salesperson, agreed a reduced price of £3,500. Last week the shop rang to tell me that the furniture is ready for delivery but say I must pay an extra £500 as they made a mistake in their calculations. Do I have to pay this?

No. You agreed a price with the retailer and had no reason to believe there had been a mistake. By accepting your offer to buy at that price, the shop made a contract with you, and you can insist on buying the furniture for that price.

If the shop refuses to let you have the furniture at that price, you should write to the retailer, giving it seven days to deliver the furniture at the agreed price. If it doesn't, you are entitled to either:

• buy equivalent items elsewhere as cheaply as possible and, if the price is higher, claim the extra from the retailer, or
• pay 'under protest' and try to claim the difference in price from the retailer through the small claims court.

Car cost rising

What happens if, when I buy a car, the manufacturer's price rises between the time I place the order and the time I take delivery?

When you sign a contract you are legally bound by its terms. So look at your sales agreement – there may be a term that lets the seller pass on any rise in its costs, in which case you would have to pay the increased price.

If there is such a term, you should try and cross this out before you sign and get the retailer to agree the amendments you've made. But if there is a clause in the contract which allows the retailer to increase the price, without giving you a right to cancel if the price is too high, you may be able to challenge this term under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.