I am really worried about a phone call I received earlier today.

Basically I have created a webiste that I am currently trying to locate stock from suppliers. In the meantime whilst my site is still improving in the rankings I have arranged for another website to process my orders.

Basically all I do is make payment and apply a special code for a discount on the suppliers site.

The problem is as I am still setting up my site, some of the prices of the products are actually incorrect and a buyer has spotted this and in turn purhcased 20 items of a particular product well below what I could buy them for anyway.

I therefore refunded the payment and advised that due to the postal strike here in the UK we do not have any stock.

He then sent me an email followed by a phone call advising he is a solicitor and that as I banked his payment I am legally obliged to fufil it. He also quoted various Acts to support his statement. As mentioned above I did actually refund it.

Please can anyone offer me some serious advice on this issue as he has subsquently sent a couple of follow up emails and I am really worried.

Regards. John.

If you refunded the money, there is nothing he can do, even though he may complain about that.

You're fine. You did the right thing with refunding him. If he calls again tell him not to call back again and if he does he's the one who is breaking a law harassing you.

Thanks for the prompt respones but he was saying that I took his money and under some UK Sales Act then I am obliged to fufill it.

Does anyone have any ideas on this matter from a legal point?

I hoped you fixed the error as well, nothing would be worse then him simply re-ordering or trying to get you for what we call false advertising here in the states.

its better take suggestion from ur local lawyers

If you indeed refunded his money, than you did not "take" his money and therefore are not obligated to fulfill his order. As long as you have documentaion that his money was refunded in full, you should have no trouble.

In order to protect yourself in the future, make sure you put in fine print somewhere on your site (like a Terms & Conditions section) "not responsible for errors or omissions" and "all orders subject to availbility of items on day of order" This should cover you for future issues.

he can't sue you if he can't serve you papers. HIDE!

I got once a laptop worth about $1200 for only ~$220 only because the shop had the wrong price entered by mistake. Seems they didn't noticed that at first but after some time called me and asked to send me the rest $ - Fuck u I already paid for it worked

But there's really nothing he can do.. He just wants to get you to sell you to them those goods for that price! Just ignore him...

If money was refunded for a purchase and buyer accepted the refund, then seller-buyer agreement has been terminated. No need to worry dude.

You should do what amazon and all the big boys do. Have a link on your site to a disclaimer page, and say that in the event that a product is mispriced, you reserve the right to refund any purchases and not sell the product at the incorrect price.

I've been running various businesses in the UK for 30+ years so I think I know the rules here. There's nothing he can do as long as you weren't deliberately trying to mislead.

I'm not a lawyer so you should probably get legal advice if you are concerned. He will put it in writing if he is serious.

If he really is a solicitor and he harasses you, report him to the Law Society.

Originally Posted by charliebones

If you indeed refunded his money, than you did not "take" his money and therefore are not obligated to fulfill his order. As long as you have documentaion that his money was refunded in full, you should have no trouble.

Originally Posted by beaglejuice

If money was refunded for a purchase and buyer accepted the refund, then seller-buyer agreement has been terminated. No need to worry dude.

I have been looking into this recently and I have found that any prices quoted on a website etc are an invite to trade, they are not definite until the buyer pays and the seller accepts.

At the point of accepting the payment, its is a signed contract and the deal has been done.

Just because you refund it doesn't mean the contract wasn't made.

However, how someone would enforce that law across the Internet I do not know. Just stick a disclaimer in as others have said and you should be fine.

If he was to get trading standards involved he could make a claim that items were wrongly listed but he has to prove this. In a real store this is easy, they come in surreptitously and act like customers. On a website, assuming you have updated your prices he has no claim under law.

Don't sweat it, he is just trying it on, I have pulled this "I am a solicitor" shit in restaurants, anyone can say that. If he was a solicitor he would make one claim and wait for your response (think about it) the fact that he is harrasing you just shows he is trying it on.

what a joke, you can't sue someone for not rendering service if he doesn't accept your money. It'd be like trying to sue a convenience store for not selling you beer

I'm afraid I think he may possibly have a case - take a look at a similar situation to yours I found on http://www.legalbanter.co.uk/uk-lega...e-website.html
I'm not a lawyer , but as charliebones says , I'd get a T's & C's & E. & O.E small print up (perhaps claiming it's always been there!) asap
HTH

Lol..there are thousands of fraudsters on the net robbing people off thier money on daily basis. Most of these guys are running around freely scanning their next prey without any worries, and this guy is threatening you even after obtaining a full refund.

That happens alot online. It has happened to Target.com and Best Buy.com. They put the wrong price on an item, and a bunch of people buy said wrong priced item. The retailer discovers the error and refunds the money, and that is as far as it goes.

Tell him that he recieved a full refund, and NO you are under NO obligation to send him the items just because he paid you; he is full of shit, and trying to scare you. Ignore that moron.

He might have a case. In a real world situation, legally you need to provide them at the price promised, even if its a computer glitch or similar problem. Once you get sent payment it is like a contract. However it is online and you could come up with some BS reason which might save you but doubt he is going to get serious with this...

Hi there,
i think your pretty safe, i went to by a pair of boots about a year ago and they were marked up at the wrong price, so i argued the same case about getting them at the marked up price £60+ cheaper.

But the guy told me the laws have changed because of the EU, somthing to do with equal rights and dyslexia. stops them from hiring.

although the guy might of been having me on, but he made a good case

I don't know about the UK, but in the US I'd tell him to go fuck himself.

Originally Posted by NoWhErE

what a joke, you can't sue someone for not rendering service if he doesn't accept your money. It'd be like trying to sue a convenience store for not selling you beer

Your "beer" example doesn't apply here at all.

Originally Posted by nam6641

You should do what amazon and all the big boys do. Have a link on your site to a disclaimer page, and say that in the event that a product is mispriced, you reserve the right to refund any purchases and not sell the product at the incorrect price.

That's a good idea.

@OP: Upload this kind of disclaimer immediately. If this guy emails you again, you reply by providing the link for the disclaimer. And it would be also a good idea to let him know that you are going to file a counter law suit for harassment in case he won't stop bothering you with this issue.

he's a bull shit artist, he is not a solicitor and knows nothing about law or he would not have taken this heavy approach.

Get him to send you a letter on headed paper and post it up for us to have a look at

call your attorney. find out if those acts actually exist.

listen man, you can simply ignore this man. He can't do anything even if he's the chief judge. If he goes to court, he'll definitely lose. Like some one suggested above, just include a TOS disclaimer with some serious legal clauses that will exonerate you in any law suit.

I provide a disclaimer on all my products that states the conditions of sale and a return policy.

I also state that your satisfaction is NOT guaranteed in any fashion. I believe only fools provide some written form of satisfaction. I tell them clearly that I have no authority to claim that they will be pleased, especially if it is an info product like an eBook.

You may think this effects my sales but it does not at all. I take zero responsibility for some goons state of mind, you either want it or not.

Ok, am trying to recollect my law studies but think you should be ok.

Basically there was an invitation to treat (your website) an offer (their payment) and then there has to be acceptance.

I don't believe that the processing of their credit card data necessarily constitutes acceptance and your refund effectively confirms that actually you didn't accept the offer.

I know that in a shop they are not obliged to sell you the item if it was mispriced providing there was no intention to mislead in which case Trading Standards would become involved.

The buyer is trying it on.

Hopefully I'm ok posting this link to the Legal Beagles forum but this is an identical situation to yours. You need to be a member to read the answers but it's all free. It also refers to case law which will help you with your "solictor" friend!!

Code:

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?t=9382

EDIT: Also have alook at the terms and conditions specified in post 11 of that forum thread and incorporate them into yours for future mistakes!!

Mmm.. Well a contract was created... But you could say that an unpredictable error occured and that the wrong information was used. In most legal systems an unpredictiable event (such as lightning..) would exclude liablity. Or you say the site was hacked and prices were illegally modified.
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your fine man

Originally Posted by nam6641

You should do what amazon and all the big boys do. Have a link on your site to a disclaimer page, and say that in the event that a product is mispriced, you reserve the right to refund any purchases and not sell the product at the incorrect price.

+1 add this and tell him to go fuck him self ;]

I've dealt with plenty of lawyers in US. If there's a real issue, you'll usually get a letter on their letterhead first threatening a "specific legal action" (usually a law suit or filing a complaint with government officials) that they'll pursue if you don't honor whatever request they're making.

( In the US, the first thing the court will ask is if you were allowed an opportunity to remedy the situation without going to court.)

After that, the next thing you'll receive is "service of legal papers" notifying you that you're being sued or a copy of the complaint that has been filed with some government agency along with instructions about how to respond.

Bottom Line: If he's just calling you or emailing you he's probably blowing smoke up your ass! A real lawyer (and I would suspect a Solicitor as well) is not going to waste billable hours chasing petty crap like this.

Ask yourself,"If you were providing a service for which you billed 100-200 pounds/hour, would you waste your time with this?"

And,"Why would a "Solicitor" buy TWENTY of these things?" Are they law laptops or something?

DISCLAIMER: I'm NOT A lawyer nor have I ever played one on TV.

Under U.S. Law,

He can argue that he had a legally binding contract with you when he accepted your offer of the goods. The offer is you selling the item to him online, and the acceptance is him purchasing it. Thus a legal contract exists between you too.

You have breached that contract by not having the goods available at the time, thus you are liable to him. You have to either provide him with the goods, or pay for them if he has bought them elsewhere.

Will this actually go through in court? Hell no, unless you are dealing with A LOT of money the legal fees will be more than it would be for him to sue you.

Another thing, did you specify WHEN you will give him the goods? If this is not part of your contract you can argue that time was never specified, thus a contract may never have been formed in the first place.

you refunded the money and he accepted, this cancels the order and the initial contract. nothing he can do, except threaten you. invite him to "do what he has to do" IOW serve you with court papers.

Just ignore, bottom line is that it was an honest error, you refunded, further action by him is unlikely.

Guys this is NOT how contracts work.

By canceling he BREACHES the contract... please don't give out advice like this because it will NOT hold up in a real court.

just ignore it, I've had so many stupid things like this come up, I had this small vending machine business in high school and met with a sales guy for a phone book ad, I was young and naive and ended up signing up for a $1500 ad without realizing it, then they sent the bill and I basically just kept telling them to fuck off that I didnt agree to it, its been years and years since and nothing ever came of it, oh yeah I got a free ad but it didnt matter since I closed the business soon after

Originally Posted by drey2k

Guys this is NOT how contracts work.

By canceling he BREACHES the contract... please don't give out advice like this because it will NOT hold up in a real court.

The OP is based in the UK and not US.

It is a common problem.
Solution - write a new terms page - backdate it - upload it
And send the link to buyer.

Firstly 90% of these threats are empty however he does have a case.

Dont listen to the people above, disclaimers do not allow you to break or idemnify you from the law , 90% of these and service agreements are just FUD. No contract can overule Trade practices or any other law.

Best thing ignore him , if he cant serve you ,you dont have to go to court . However i got served by email once... and the court allowed it .

If you do get served do not run or ignore it. Tell him you are a sole trader startup , you do not have the products nor do you have the money to buy them . People only go to court because they think the other party has money . If he is a lawyer it is not worth his time to take you to court as he gets big $$$ per hour anyway.

If it goes to court represent yourself . The court / judge is normally a lot more lenient. Dont lie in court or documents submitted to it Baristers will rip you to shreds.

Originally Posted by madblacker

just ignore it, I've had so many stupid things like this come up, I had this small vending machine business in high school and met with a sales guy for a phone book ad, I was young and naive and ended up signing up for a $1500 ad without realizing it, then they sent the bill and I basically just kept telling them to fuck off that I didnt agree to it, its been years and years since and nothing ever came of it, oh yeah I got a free ad but it didnt matter since I closed the business soon after

You can mostly ignore it as a kid but as an adult you may get a bad credit rating and /or bankruptcy . I ended up in court its not nice , if people go after you you may end up with costs . In my case Court costs were US$210,000 ( that what they spent) and US$70,000 for me over a trivial matter and 20k.

Tell him to FUCK OFF. I'm not sure about the UK act but from a legal stance he can't do anything.

Next time he calls you tell him to have his lawyer send you written documents and tell him the next time he calls you will report him given that he is harassing you!

Dont let this clown punk you around. Fuck him and his order!

Dont be scared mate!

I think you are fine..just ignore that guy and ask him to f**k himself

Originally Posted by 0zzy

Please you are kindly requested not to post sensless replies which might hurt someone . . .

Do you know what an unpredictable event is ? lightning is considered a natural cause and no, it wont exclude liabilities, at least in this case.

Hackers hacked the site and changed them? How will you prove it in the court?

@OP , are you sure you refunded the total amount of money? Also what product are we talking about? There are different scenarios where (30 %) the buyer can win the trail but in this case (70 %) you are a winner

In international trade, where millions of dollars contracts are done, if you give back the money to the buyer, he can sue you and win? How? well here it is:

He can pretend he took a loan from someone he knows (everything can be well documented) for that purchase and the interest rate is quite high, so you give back to him money but he doesnt need money, he needs those products to make a larger profit and pay back the other guy he took the money from

So in this scenario, the arbitration would be against you and most probably you would give the products + the money back, but in your case, nothing will happen, at least from what you shared here

the term is "ACT OF GOD" and yes you do see this in many high dollar docs. I have dealt with muti million dollar contracts with this exact terminology, act of god is more like a freeway falling over, because that never happens. your site being hacked would be in YOUR error for not taking precautions. (yes I know everything can be hacked) but no judge is going to buy that story.