Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
thelawnet
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Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by thelawnet »

slowster wrote:However, that's no excuse for the shop's actions. Even if they could no longer honour the price originally paid, I would expect them to contact you, apologise for the error and inconvenience and immediately refund the monies paid if you did not want to pay the higher price.


It doesn't matter whether they want to honour the price, they are contractually obliged to do so.
slowster
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by slowster »

thelawnet wrote:It doesn't matter whether they want to honour the price, they are contractually obliged to do so.

Maybe, but maybe not.
Trikeyohreilly
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Joined: 16 Dec 2010, 6:06pm

Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by Trikeyohreilly »

Thanks for the Ison link. It shows that the Big Dummy Black size 16 is now special order.

They have offered me my money back (cancel order) but I was hoping to still get the frame for the £800 it was advertised and paid for. I'll talk to Triton Cycles and see if I can get them to honour the original contract.

At £949 I can't afford the build.
slowster
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by slowster »

Richmond Cycle Centre showing Black Medium and Large @ £875.
thelawnet
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Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by thelawnet »

slowster wrote:
thelawnet wrote:It doesn't matter whether they want to honour the price, they are contractually obliged to do so.

Maybe, but maybe not.


hmm, they are saying not

Your order is an offer to buy from us. We will send you an order confirmation email detailing the products you have ordered and an estimated date for delivery. Please note that this email is not acceptance of your order by us.

Nothing that we do or say will amount to any acceptance of your offer until you are sent an email notifying you that we have despatched a product to you. At this point (when we send the email notifying you of despatch), a contract will be made between Triton Cycles and you for you to buy and us to sell the products that you have ordered from us. Where products are despatched separately, our acceptance of the order in respect of each product takes place when you are notified by email of such despatch.

Up until the point the contract is made, you may withdraw your offer. After the time the contract is made, you cannot amend your order However, you may cancel an order by notifying us.

At any point up until the contract is made, we may decline to supply a product to you. If we decline to supply a product to you and you have already paid for it, we will give you a full refund of any amount already paid for that product.
richardfm
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by richardfm »

thelawnet wrote:
slowster wrote:
thelawnet wrote:It doesn't matter whether they want to honour the price, they are contractually obliged to do so.

Maybe, but maybe not.


hmm, they are saying not

Your order is an offer to buy from us. We will send you an order confirmation email detailing the products you have ordered and an estimated date for delivery. Please note that this email is not acceptance of your order by us.

Nothing that we do or say will amount to any acceptance of your offer until you are sent an email notifying you that we have despatched a product to you. At this point (when we send the email notifying you of despatch), a contract will be made between Triton Cycles and you for you to buy and us to sell the products that you have ordered from us. Where products are despatched separately, our acceptance of the order in respect of each product takes place when you are notified by email of such despatch.

Up until the point the contract is made, you may withdraw your offer. After the time the contract is made, you cannot amend your order However, you may cancel an order by notifying us.

At any point up until the contract is made, we may decline to supply a product to you. If we decline to supply a product to you and you have already paid for it, we will give you a full refund of any amount already paid for that product.

I don't think they understand contract law. They name a price (an invitation to treat), you accept their invitation and pay the price, the contact exists.
Richard M
Cardiff
Trikeyohreilly
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Joined: 16 Dec 2010, 6:06pm

Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by Trikeyohreilly »

That's it then. Thank you for finding the very precise small print. Leaves nothing in question. I'll not again think I have something just because I have found the deal I was hoping for and paid my money. Perhaps this is an example of the "just in time" delivery/manufacturing system that has other benefits.
Ivor Tingting
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by Ivor Tingting »

A few years ago I had a bad experience buying from Triton cycles. I ordered a KMC X-1 chain £26.99 from their website which was shown as IN STOCK, well I thought it was in stock as after 4-5 days it was showing out of stock and I hadn't got my chain despite having paid them. So I call them up and they give me some BS that the distributor doesn't have any and more chains have to come from Switzerland but this should only take about a week longer.I agree to wait. 10 days later and still no chain I call them up again as the chain has now been removed from their website. I am given more BS that the chain will take about another week to arrive but I request a refund instead. Two days later I get an email to say the chain has been dispatched to me. At last! The chain arrives but I immediately realise it is NOT the KMC X1 silver chain I had ordered from them but a much cheaper KMC chain £6.99 which I found on their website. Not only is this chain not of the suitable spec for my Rohloff, Triton Cycles have decided to pocket the difference between what I had paid them for X-1 Silver chain £26.99 and the cost of this cheaper chain. There is no letter of apology for the delay or any explanation provided within the packaging and no other correspondence. On reflection I realise they just wanted to fleece me. I ring them up again as I am livid. Eventually I did get a refund, but it took some time and there was no genuinely attempt to put things right. I bought my first Rohloff hub from them. The box and Rohloff book arrived damaged. The external packaging was fine so it wasn't something the carrier did. They sent out damaged goods hoping I wouldn't complain. But I did and they eventually sent me another book. The Rohloff book is a nice hard back book when it's not damaged. I would never buy from them again. Avoid!

In this instance I believe they have entered into a contract with you for a specified price to supply an item. The fact that they now want more money from you as not your problem. I believe they maybe in breach of contract. Some one posted their terms and conditions which seem very unfavourable to consumers i.e. their customers. These would be looked at by a court if it ever got that far meaning you had decided to sue. I get the impression they are the sort of company who if you experience poor service from them then their attitude is put up or shut up. They don't care. In any case they probably buy bike frames at 40-50% of full retail price so in this instance they are breaching their contract with you to protect their profit. If they honour the contract they have with you for £800 they won't lose money, but won't make as much as they will if you give them another £200. It is going in their back pocket not to Ison Distribution or Surly. I would get a refund, buy from elsewhere then send them a demand for the additional cost you have had to pay to obtain the frame if above £800.
"Zat is ze reel prowoking qwestion Mr Paxman." - Peer Steinbruck, German Finance Minister 31/03/2009.
Bez
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by Bez »

Ivor Tingting wrote:I would get a refund, buy from elsewhere then send them a demand for the additional cost you have had to pay to obtain the frame if above £800.


Whatever the contractual status beforehand, that'd be a futile demand.

Still… news to me, but the pertinent bit from the CAB site:

Depending on the company’s terms and conditions, you’ll have legal rights (and a contract) either:
- once you’ve paid for the item
- once they’ve sent it to you
You’ll need to find the company’s terms and conditions to find out where you stand.


So there we go, they're on the level. Presumably not uncommon with items like this which are inevitably going to run at low stock levels and are imported. (And especially QBP products which have been rising in price in the UK seemingly every other day for the last 10 years.)
Tiberius
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by Tiberius »

Trikeyohreilly wrote: I'll talk to Triton Cycles and see if I can get them to honour the original contract.
.



When I read your OP I wondered if this was re Triton.

Four years ago I was looking to buy a Surly Troll frameset, in black size large. The Triton web site indicated that they had said item in stock. I rang them before ordering (on line) to confirm that they actually had this frameset in stock. I was told that it was definitely in stock ready to go and that I should order it on line, which I did.

Twenty minutes later I got an email saying that the framset wasn't in stock and that it would have to be ordered in. I rang back an asked them to explain why I had been told it WAS in stock. I was told that they did have one in stock but that it was earmarked for another customer and that the person that I had spoken to earlier was not aware of this !!

Conclusion (for me at least)....Avoid.
gxaustin
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by gxaustin »

Why not speak to trading standards for a final verdict?
philvantwo
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by philvantwo »

Would have helped if you'd paid with a credit card, a call to them and they'd have told you instantly where you stood. I'd tell them to stick their frame now.
mercalia
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by mercalia »

Well thats a blacklisted company? I would have thought once they have your money the deal is sealed. But really is it worth pursuing? Get your money back and spread the word about this unscrupulous company, sticking to the facts. Your local trading standards worth a call as some one suggested
PH
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by PH »

It's a shame, but that's what you'd expect when you deal with logistics companies rather than retailers. That's what these big box shifters are - middlemen, brokers - in stock means available to them, sometimes they'll never even see the goods, they'll go straight from someone elses warehouse to the customer, often in a sellers branded box. Hardly surprising that it occasionally goes wrong, or that they write the T&C's to protect themselves when it does.
Up to you who you spend your money with, but if you think another company with the same business model (And it's probably only such companies that can offer those prices) will be able to offer better service I think you'll be disappointed. That isn't a cue for anyone to chip in about how many times they've used XXX without issue, I'm sure the same can be said about Triton. Current tracking and stock control systems are incredibly accurate, errors will nearly always be of the human kind, but it's unlikely to be the person you're dealing with who made it.
Bez
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Re: Bike frame price increase after order placed and paid for legal?

Post by Bez »

mercalia wrote:spread the word about this unscrupulous company, sticking to the facts.


The facts appear to be that their terms and conditions are both legal and commonplace, and that they have done nothing untoward in this case.

So, if you were “sticking to the facts”, on what basis would you “spread the word about this unscrupulous company”?
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