Quick consumer question/postage charges

[sammyc]

I've googled & found answers all around this issue except this particular case:

Long story simplified:

I pre-ordered 2 items from a US mail order firm. Shipping was say £25 for 1 item, & came out as the same for the 2 = I was billed £25 shipping.

Today they email & say they 'should' have charged that amount per each, & can I confirm I'm happy to pay double ie £50 I haven't actually paid anything yet just submitted the order, so they would re-invoice me.

Me: checks website & find they have indeed changed the postage now.. but to a different, greater amount say £35 for 1 - also the cost for 2 (& in fact for any quantity, I tested up to 5).

Presumably I have them over a barrel over trying to charge double but are firms entitled to up their postage costs on a pre-order ie can I even argue I shouldn't have to pay £35?

Thanks.

(fuming actually, asking for extra shipping is one thing - if it was a mistake they should just swallow it imo - but when their facts are not even correct. incompetence! and it's at least my fourth dim-witted business interaction inside a fortnight.

[Lucio]

Tell them to cancel the pre-order and then re-place it at the £35 postage

[sammyc]

How is that better than getting them to adjust the invoice; if they're planning to adjust it upwards, they can adjust in any way I guess?

Are they entitled to ask £35?

[Flibb]

Generally you haven't entered in to a contract until you have paid, so the price can vary until you do pay. At least that's what happened when I have imported stuff.

Be aware that you can get hit for VAT on the combined cost of the goods and postage, you might also have to pay import duty and a handling charge.

[sammyc]

Thanks there isn't anything further to pay but if they are able to legitimately change the costs I will just hit them with an email pointing out their error/s.

The item cost can't change it is fixed price & the only reason they should be entitled to ask for more post is if there has been an interim increase. Google reports a USPS increase as of Jan 17, I placed my order on Feb 4th. So if they hadn't adjusted their shipping in line with that... not my fault. So tbh I feel they should stick to the original charge for that reason, not to mention for messing me around & timewasting. I could easily have just paid up the extra without checking, no doubt someone somewhere has).

[Saracen]

So, if they make a mistake they should just "swallow it".

If you made a mistake and paid them £1500 when you meant to pay them £150, would you be happy if they suggested that seeing as it was your mistake, you shoud just "swallow it"?

I don't know what US law says on this and as the firm is US-based, I'd bet that will be the relevant law, but UK law is basically that they can decline any order up to the point the contract is made, which will usually be when they accept your offer to purhase and charge your card. So if you haven't yet paid, I.e. had your card charged, I'd say you don't have a leg to stand on.

Now suppose they had amended the cost to increase postage and you reply "no" to their email. Unless goods have already been sent, all they're likely to do is refund the card and cancel the order.

Ultimately, if you still want the goods at the revised cost, go ahead. If not, tell them "no, please cancel".

[sammyc]

My main gripe is that they are asking me for £50 when the cost currently quoted on their site is £35. Therefore they have made 3 successive errors:

Quoting the 'wrong price' in the first place (so they say, it's hard to see why 2 items should be double charge when that isn't how their shipping charges are set up ie you can still order 5 of this item now at the current shipping rate for 1)

Asking me for more money now than is actually quoted on their site right now

& failing to up their charges in line with USPS in good time (if that is indeed the reason for the increase from 25 to 35, I'm just assuming): ie they had had nearly three weeks, & if I had seen £35 quoted at the time of my order I may have decided to shop somewhere cheaper (whch now isn't an option). People shopping with them for items immediately available in that time have had £35 of shipping for £25 presumably. If shipping costs had risen between my placing my order and now, I wouldn't be quibbling.

Suggesting they swallow the cost was me writing in annoyance last night, and was just an expression that for the sake of £10* - the difference between what they were originally asking and what their site quotes now - they might want to absorb that in the light of just having INCORRECTLY asked me for £15 more than their actual price, & in the interest of not losing a future customer. I know they are not obliged to but they could choose to as a goodwill gesture blah blah. If I said yes to the £50 they may well have taken it without correcting it in future for all I know.

* (it's actually less as I've rounded the figures up, it's more like £7-£8)

[scaryjim]

... if I had seen £35 quoted at the time of my order I may have decided to shop somewhere cheaper (whch now isn't an option). ...

Why is shopping somewhere else not an option? Cancel the order with this company, re-order from somewhere else; I don't see the problem there. In fact, if it was me I'd be inclined to dothat even if the competitor was slightly more expensive, just to avoid their obviously poor customer service and ability to accurate price things (if you cancel and re-order at £35 postage i'd put money on them emailing you, saying it was a mistake and asking you for £70).

[sammyc]

Why is shopping somewhere else not an option? Cancel the order with this company, re-order from somewhere else; I don't see the problem there. In fact, if it was me I'd be inclined to dothat even if the competitor was slightly more expensive, just to avoid their obviously poor customer service and ability to accurate price things

Because not available. I had one chance to go elsewhere cheaper, annoyingly, but that was after I'd placed this order so I'd have had to cancel.. & that chance has now gorn.

(if you cancel and re-order at £35 postage i'd put money on them emailing you, saying it was a mistake and asking you for £70).

yes so would I. Slightly tempted to now order 3 items to average the shipping down but imagining the chaos that would cause them.. maybe not.

[sammyc]

Update: I have now thrown caution to the whatsit and placed a re-order for 3 items & replied to their email as follows:

Your site says £35 for multiples of this item so unsure why you are quoting £25 x 2
I have decided to order 3 items so to keep things simple I have re-ordered, please cancel my original order

Subtext:
Your site says £35 for multiples of this item so what are you playing at asking for £50
I have re-ordered because you are idiots and I don't trust you to re-adjust my order competently - & let's see if you have the face to ask for more postage again. Go ahead, make my day, punks..

[virtuo]

I'd have gone in hot with the subtext version, hope it works out

[sammyc]

Ok so.. some sort of footling explanation back about the site not calculating overseas postage correctly (so why not warn people early on ie when I placed the order weeks ago or preferably with a note on site..)

New quote, for 3 items, is £60 'as opposed to £45' - which no-one has ever even mentioned £45, so basically, gawd knows what they are playing at. I've asked them to clarify. Note, no offers to compromise slightly for good will, find an alt shipping method &c, and needless to say, will never shop with them again.

[Zak33]

walk away

if it's wrong so early on... it'll never be right when it arrives.

[sammyc]

I know, I know.. but I won't get the item elsewhere so..

I have heard back from them and apparently the £45 is what is recorded as having been quoted, as it appears at their end (screenshot) so there are more things going wrong with their system than they even know about

£60 for 3 as compared to £56 for 2 is the only way to bring my unit price down so it has to be that; there was already a resale component as far as I was concerned (buy 2/sell 1), so I'll just have to offset somewhere.. if I ever get 'em.

[Disturbedguy]

Does anyone else just want to know what the item is?

[sammyc]