Anyone else get hasseled over the $444.99 price last night?

[superlawyer15]

The linked sites do not apply to VZW's situation. Almost all companies have clauses protecting them from pricing errors. This kind of thing happens often. Companies never get in trouble. If someone actually gets it at the advertised price it's becasue the company was just sick of their complaining.

It was an obvious mistake, not some super evil plot from vzw.

If you can cite a specific law/court case applying to this situation then I'll believe.

Amazon had the same mistake with PS3s priced low. No one forget them cheap and amazon didn't get sued.

i said this before

a clause/company policy cannot supersede law

i'll try to find specific caselaw , if one even exists, i doubt an issue as specific as you want has been raised in court before

but IMO, if verizon lets it go to court they are stupid, and they will lose

you made a mistake, then you own up to it, its the nature of doing business

 

[thedeceiver]

The linked sites do not apply to VZW's situation. Almost all companies have clauses protecting them from pricing errors. This kind of thing happens often. Companies never get in trouble. If someone actually gets it at the advertised price it's becasue the company was just sick of their complaining.

It was an obvious mistake, not some super evil plot from vzw.

If you can cite a specific law/court case applying to this situation then I'll believe.

Amazon had the same mistake with PS3s priced low. No one forget them cheap and amazon didn't get sued.

This is correct. There is no law that requires them to honor a misprinted price on a consumer electronic ordered online. Some states have laws around purchases you make in certain stores (such as grocery stores). But by and large, unless this is a pervasive, widespread problem, companies are allowed to cancel or stop promotions at any time for any reason. They are not legally obligated to sell you anything and you are not forced to purchase from them.

Should VZW have honored? Yes. Should you have pushed hard? Yes. But is it the law? Not unless it's widespread.

 

[rdmartin1]

the $444 is for prepaid accounts. You have to sign up for service to get that price. I saw it on the price card when I went into the store. If I could've purchased it for that priced I wouldn't have signed a contract.

 

[j7469]

Without getting to technical here, since the order was placed online (not with a person) I believe Verizon's lawyers would argue that the price listed on website was an advertisement and NOT a unilateral contract. the sale would only become a contract when and actual Verizon employee accepts the terms you agreed to by completing the order online thus become binding. Until then any contract you agreed to in principal would be voidable at Verizon's request.

Haven't any of you guys walked into a BestBuy (or any other retail store) only to see a sign posted on the door with a correction for the current weeks flyer explaining there was a pricing error? Sale flyers are usually not considered binding contract but opportunity for negotiation.

Most "Bait and Switch" laws are targeted to advertising an item at a lower price only to not have it in stock and attempting to then sell you a higher priced item

http://tutor2u.net/law/notes/contract-elements.html

Now this is not legal advice and just my opinion, I happen to be a law student and NOT a lawyer. Also most of my knowledge of the law is for the state of New Hampshire so your states' law may differ.

 

[zonyl]

Did you get a receipt of purchase for the phone in an email or delivered via a webpage? If so, I believe that constitutes contract acceptance under UCC. It would be nice if someone with access to case law could do a quick search.

BTW, I ordered an Xbox 360 Arcade from Amazon (couple of years ago) during their $100 promotion in which they sold too many units before the website closed off the sale. They tried to back out and sent an apology, however, I had screenshots of the order confirmation and receipt in email. I pushed UCC at them while asking for a legal address to file a complaint, and they gave me a $100 gift card to make up the difference. Ill try and dig up the email to see the specific law I had quoted (been a while).