Payment Dispute with shop

Information and questions about the Law in Spain and Andalucia.
Paulinmalaga
Resident
Posts: 433
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:27 am
Location: malaga province

Payment Dispute with shop

Postby Paulinmalaga » Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:28 am

A friend of mine who lives in England was recently staying in Granada where he purchased three new suits. The shop altered the trouser lengths to fit. He gave them his contact details so they could let him know when they were ready to collect. He’d paid in cash and when he collected his purchases after the alterations they gave him his factura/receipt showing a Zero balance owed ( Entregado 0.00- Pendiente 0.00- Total Nota 0.00). Now a few months later he’s had an email from the shop saying they’d made a mistake and had undercharged him by 300 euros and could he call in to the shop and pay or sort by another method, obviously he cant pop in. Surely he can just wave his receipt at them so to speak and tell them “sorry not my problem”? Is this correct?
I So Bella tis you

User avatar
Trooperman
Resident
Posts: 1074
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:40 pm
Location: Fuente de Piedra

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby Trooperman » Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:36 am

No brainer I would have thought...from what you say, he owes nada.....and how can they pursue a dispute if he lives in England?
nil illegitimum carborundum

User avatar
jamesbowker
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 48
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 4:11 pm
Location: Loja

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby jamesbowker » Wed Sep 14, 2016 11:55 am

Technically he may be able to get away with it but my question is, when he went to pay did he believe there had been a mistake, that he had been undercharged (after all, surely an estimate must have been provided upfront?) and said nothing? If that is the case then, morally speaking, I think he should arrange to pay up. The business may well be struggling and this loss of cashflow may be make or break for them. It may be an honest mistake. I have known of instances - in Spain - where debts are owed, foreigners are stopped on re-entering the country and charged with an offence. If they have his identity details this may be a route for the shop to pursue if this is a genuine debt.

Paulinmalaga
Resident
Posts: 433
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:27 am
Location: malaga province

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby Paulinmalaga » Wed Sep 14, 2016 12:10 pm

Get away with what? He had no idea there was any kind of error, 3 x suits @ €499 each, he paid €1500 cash on the spot. They have said in their email that its their mistake and the suits should have been €599 each....how would or could he or anyone else know the shop had wrongly priced the goods? The shop in question has several branches in major cities in Spain and if they are having cash flow problems that is down to them surely and not their customers? I fail to see what offence could possibly be leveled at him...
I So Bella tis you

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby Wicksey » Wed Sep 14, 2016 12:40 pm

This is the law in the UK but not sure how it is here in Spain.

If an item is priced incorrectly on the shelf, or scans at the wrong price at the till, retailers are under no obligation to honour it, under the Sale of Goods Act. They can offer the item at the correct price or refuse your money and withdraw the product from sale.
If a pricing mistake is not noticed and the customer pays for an item at the reduced cost, the purchase is considered a legally binding contract between the retailer and the customer. The shop has no legal right to claw back any money if it later realises there has been an error.


From my college law lectures I can remember that the price shown on a label in a shop is merely an 'invitiation to treat' and is not legally binding on the seller. So if something had been priced at 1.00 pound instead of 1,000 pounds you cannot insist on buying it at that price when the shop realises they have made a mistake and will not sell it to you at that incorrect price.

The difference is when the goods are sold at a certain price and the sale is processed, then that constitutes a contract and the shop cannot therefore contact the purchaser later and then claim they have made a mistake ....... however, whether the law is the same here is another thing. I wouldn't pay any more myself and as they don't have any credit card details I would resist the request, particularly as the price he paid was reasonable.

elusive
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3275
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:49 am
Location: East of Malaga

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby elusive » Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:01 pm

I would look on C.A.B spain they have a website and facebook page

markwilding
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7776
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:02 am
Location: Bilbao Spain

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby markwilding » Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:25 pm

The law is the same here as in the UK. A contract has been made when money passed hands so there should be no legal obligation to pay the extra.
He made the purchase on the understanding the suits were 499 Euros and if he had been quoted 599 Euros, the deal is different and his decision to buy might have been different.
It is certainly true that retailers can withdraw goods should they be mispriced but that same rule means that a buyer can withdraw as well, which in this case is not possible.
On some purchases new laws have been introduced which says there can be prices displayed cannot incur obligatory extra costs. However, I'm not sure how far this extends.
For example If a restaurant displays its 'menu del dia' without VAT, as some do, I believe this is illegal but I'm not 100 per cent certain, although I know that Ryanair must include all obligatory costs in their advertised price.

User avatar
peteroldracer
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7774
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 5:56 pm
Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby peteroldracer » Wed Sep 14, 2016 6:25 pm

I (briefly) worked for the now-defunct MFI. Their management would not accept that they were wrong in displaying a price for a sofa or a bed - larger items rather than the flatpackcrap - yet these had to be delivered to the customer, at a cost. They could not be collected, even from a store, so as far as I was concerned the price was the item plus the transport.
I used to cough to disguise a [email protected] I f@rt to disguise a cough.

wollie
Resident
Posts: 1031
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2014 8:53 pm

Re: Payment Dispute with shop

Postby wollie » Thu Sep 15, 2016 9:49 am

If it were me I would just ignore... I am guessing they are fairly good suits at €600 so likely they altered by good tailor and when the shop got the bill wanted to recover this...
It be better if he has the original receipt as it confirms zero balance when the items were collected but it really makes no difference.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests