Charged extra after order confirmed

Lynfo

Firstly, let me say that I'm not looking for my money back, I would however, like to make the point if I'm in the right here.

I recently ordered a bunch of flowers to be sent to the US. I got an order confirmation via email, stating that my order total was €50.00

About an hour later, I got a phone call to say that the price was incorrect, and I would need to pay an extra €20.00. I agreed to this as I needed to get the flowers sent asap.

I went back onto the website later that day and put through the same order to see what the price would be and was told again it was €50.00

I've emailed the company in question and I'm being told the following:

The issue is this. We can charge €7.95 delivery to the US but it doesn’t work.

The additional charge of €20 was not for delivery but to ensure we got a bouquet you would be happy with at the other end in the US.

The problem is that with depending on locations and locally based partners, exchange rates and seasonality of products, when we attempt to send an order overseas, we can end up with a requirement of a larger amount of money than what we have charged the customer. This is why you received a call.

We can’t financially take the hit when the amount goes to €20.

Just to confirm, we didn’t charge you €20 extra because it was the a delivery to the US, we charged you €20 because we couldn’t send your order at the size you wanted for the money we charged.

Am I correct in saying that this is unfair, and perhaps falls under false advertising?

Peregrinus

It may be more than false advertising. We'd need to see the full facts to be sure, but it looks to me as if you may have had a contract to provide a bouquet of a stipulated quality for €50. If so, it's a breach of contract.

Reloc8

Well, it looks shoddy to say the least.

Lesson learned I suppose - don't use them again.

source

Quick question for the op, given that this would appear to be a common occurrence for the business, is this practice outlined anywhere on their site? For example in the terms and conditions of sale, or the sites FAQ section.

I ask because I have seen something similar to this before and the customer hadn't read the T&Cs where this practice was outlined, they just clicked to say they accepted the T&Cs.

Lynfo

Thanks for the replies. Source- they told me after the mail above that it is outlined in their T&C, but, having read through them, I can't see it anywhere.

I definitely won't be using them again, but I wanted to make the point with them that what they are doing is wrong.

Triangla

Lynfo wrote: »

About an hour later, I got a phone call to say that the price was incorrect, and I would need to pay an extra €20.00. I agreed to this as I needed to get the flowers sent asap.

See what happened there - you should have just said no. They were obviously trying it on and succeeded.

Lynfo

Just an update on this for anybody who's interested. The person I sent the flowers to had to ring the local florist after 2 days as the flowers had completely wilted. The florist sent out a fresh bunch by way of apology.
But, between the wilted flowers, and the extra charge, I decided I wasn't going to let it lie, and emailed a complaint to the company.
I received a reply this morning with a full apology and confirmation that my order would be refunded in full.