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Does the rules of contract apply online as they would offline?
Anonymous4 views3 answers
I came across a website of a computer distributor, selling a laptop for $99. usually sold for $999. The website had limited the purchase to 4 units per customer only. I made a purchase and was charged with my credit card. There was also a link to Company M's terms and conditions and I was also required to click an “Accept” button. A message is sent to the purchaser stating “Thank you for your purchase. The delivery dates of your item will vary according to the level of demand for the model purchased ...”. Then, Company M stated that a mistake was made in the advertisement and that full refunds will be made for the orders cancelled. Can I enforce my contract?
Once you hit accept, you were bound by what ever terms and conditions the website was offering. If there were any disclaimers that they were allowed to cancel the contract for what ever reason they choose such as mistake in posted prices, limited availability or anything else then enforcement is not an option.
The discount of 90% off of the actual price also seems to be too good to be true. There are several defenses the other side would have even if they didn't add the right to cancel the contract in the accepted terms.
There are cases where companies that have made mistakes have chosen to honor their mistakes, but there are even more where all that may hope to get is an apology with an offer of a discount.
Perhaps, but just like an offline contract, a lawsuit might not be worthwhile. First, you will need to review the terms and conditions to determine what state you will have to sue in. You also need to research the company you intend to sue to determine where they are located, how they operate, and how easy it will be to collect once you have a judgment. Your damages might be as high as $900, but it will likely cost you far more than that to win and collect a judgment. Unless you simply have nothing better to do with your life, this probably isn't worth pursuing.
Yes, you can. For clarification: the law in most states is that a company is not bound to honor an advertised price that contains an error. But that rule ends once a purchase has been made. In addition, in most states it is not lawful for a company to advertise a price knowing that it cannot satisfy demand, just to bring people into the store. That's a form of bait-and-switch.
