Problems with a customer & order

[pnagames]

Wait for the cat IMO or if you're prepared to accept possibly losing that also, then just send it out and move on crossing your fingers.

PS - stick your finger up your dogs ass and wipe it on the parcel. It's childish, it's crude but it'll make you chuckle for a few minutes.

very interesting

i will remember not to order any dog products from you lee

Kathy, i would ask her to return the cat products and as soon as she returns you can send her the dog ones.

P.S. if only you could leave feedback at buyers on amazon

[fleetwood]

It's childish, it's crude but it'll make you chuckle for a few minutes

...might amuse the dog too

[jxm28788]

As far as I understand the law, the contract to supply is complete when you take payment (not as mentioned earlier, when the goods are supplied to the customer).

A listing on your website is an invitation to treat.
A customer order is a take up of that invitation, but you could still legally refuse the order, and withdraw your offer.
Once you take payment, you have accepted the offer, and a contract to supply has been made.

I hope that's not correct. On most websites it takes the payment automatically when the order is made, therefore 'auto-accepting' the contract. So what then happens if you can't get the goods (eg. discontinued) and you didn't have any in stock.

Doesn't sound right to me...

[Sean Williams]

As far as I understand the law, the contract to supply is complete when you take payment (not as mentioned earlier, when the goods are supplied to the customer).

A listing on your website is an invitation to treat.
A customer order is a take up of that invitation, but you could still legally refuse the order, and withdraw your offer.
Once you take payment, you have accepted the offer, and a contract to supply has been made.

It's a grey area I think.
This is from the Office of Fair Trading's guide on distance selling:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/bus...ral/oft698.pdf

"
A contract is concluded when the consumer becomes bound to buy
something and the business becomes bound to supply it. The
conclusion of a contract is determined by the facts in each case.
It is in your interest to make clear to your consumers exactly when a
binding agreement will be reached. For example, you need to explain
if the contract becomes binding when the customer places the order
or only when you confirm that you have accepted their offer to buy
"

Seems to me you have to make sure your T & C's include when the contract is complete and I read the guide to mean you can stipulate at which point in the order/pay/supply/receive chain this is.

Maybe

[jxm28788]

Once you take payment, you have accepted the offer, and a contract to supply has been made.

Just a thought, but in that case couldn't you just refund their card? Then wouldn't the fact that they have 'accepted' the refund (despite the fact that they would have no choice in the matter) mean they had in effect accepted the cancellation...?

[chris ashdown]

The contract is I think when you actually take the money not when the card details were taken.

Under the DSR you should only take the money when you dispatch the goods, hence the use of deffered and other psp payment options that allow you to delay claiming the money

In the past some big companies had problems with wrongly priced items and they were cleared in court of any wrongdoing by refusing to supply the goods as they had never accepted the contract

[fleetwood]

Just a thought, but in that case couldn't you just refund their card? Then wouldn't the fact that they have 'accepted' the refund (despite the fact that they would have no choice in the matter) mean they had in effect accepted the cancellation...?

the words "they would have no choice in the matter" are kind of crucial to the failing of this argument.

you have a choice of whether or not to take payment.

the customer does not have a choice in you putting through a refund without their prior agreement, and therefore would not be obliged to accept.

as Chris has said above, one of the big boys just about got off the hook with their incorrectly listed goods (I think it was something like TV's for 99p instead of £99 - or something similar), because they did their own payment processing (rather than the using an automated PSP taking payment at time of order), and therefore got off the hook by cancelling the orders before any payment had been taken.

If you take payment at time of order, and then can't or won't supply, you could end up sh*t creek if the customer wanted to turn nasty (as in Kathys case). I'm pretty sure that they would be legally entitled to insist on supply, and if you couldn't, they could buy elsewhere at any reasonable price, and expect you to pay the difference.

Thankfully, most customers are more reasonable than the cases being highlighted, esp when dealing with the smaller businesses, rather than the big multi-nationals.

[pnagames]

the problem with freaking A is that they take the payment automatically.

the big P on the other hand do not transfer you the money until you can state that you have dispatched the goods...

[TraceyHand]

the big P on the other hand do not transfer you the money until you can state that you have dispatched the goods...

and, dare I say it, Google Checkout is similar.
They pre-authorise the payment and then, when you log into your control panel, you can "charge" it when it's ready to ship.

[chris ashdown]

You always have a choice with your PSP as to take the money automatically when the customer orders or to use what used to be called pre-authorise where you only take the money when you dispatch the goods

with pre-authorise you only make the contract when you actually contact the psp and ask for the money, or physicaly use the vertual terminal if they have one

[TraceyHand]

You always have a choice with your PSP as to take the money automatically when the customer orders or to use what used to be called pre-authorise where you only take the money when you dispatch the goods

I think most people know that.
The point I (and probably Pan) was making was that there is no choice with some PSPs. It's automatically done like a pre-auth.

[pnagames]

I was not referring to PSP's

only to Amazon and Play

[frenchy232]

Why not send the customer a couple of cats instead, problem solved. Dogs are over rated IMHO.

I'll get my coat...........

[kathynewman]

Why not send the customer a couple of cats instead, problem solved. Dogs are over rated IMHO.

I'll get my coat...........

Now why didn't I think of that - got 5 of them running around here somewhere (mind you I've also got 3 dogs )

Yesterday received the cat product back and duely shipped the dog one.

Now that's sorted all got to do is sort out the customer who has had a litter tray for 2 months and wants to return it for a refund.........

Kathy

[chris ashdown]

Just found this line on the end of a misco order receipt done online,

Working looks good and may help if put on receipt page

"This receipt of order does not signify our acceptance of your order, nor does it constitute confirmation of our offer to sell."