Tesco Direct mistakenly sells iPad 3 for £50, causing website downtime
Tesco Direct website crashes half an hour after tip-off appears on Liverpool FC's online forums
By Mary-Ann Russon | Computerworld UK | Published: 19:01, 13 March 2012
Tesco is selling the new iPad (nicknamed the "iPad 3") for just £49.99, according a product entry on the Tesco Direct website, which crashed just half an hour after our development team spotted it in a post on the Liverpool FC forum.
The entry, for an iPad Wi-Fi 4G 64GB black could only be accessed by going to the main Tesco Direct page and keying in the product code "213-2623".
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The editorial team at Computerworld UK tried to buy a couple of units for ourselves but the website jammed at the payment page of the online ordering system, probably because the news had spread virally by then.
Tesco has reacted quickly - in the fifteen minutes that we've been writing this story, they have pulled the product entry off their website, which is now back online.
Here is a screen shot of the email receipt our dev team received from their purchase, including a token £5 delivery charge:
Since the product entry has been pulled off the website, clearly this must have been an error by Tesco (especially as Apple has apparently already sold out of preorders for the new iPad), but we were wondering - will the people who managed to purchase the item in time on Tesco's online ordering system be able to receive their iPads for just £50?
Probably not.
Under the terms and conditions for Tesco Direct, it states:
"If, by mistake, we have under-priced an item, we will not be liable to supply that item to you at the stated price, provided that we notify you before we despatch the item to you. In those circumstances, we will notify the correct price to you so you can decide whether or not you wish to order the item at that price. If you decide not to order the item, we will give you a full refund on any amount already paid for that item in accordance with our refund policy."
Comments
Walton32 said: That may well be true but once they have taken the money or in other words accepted your offer then you have a contract and failure to supply said goods would be in breach of contract
home rule for england said: re above If Tescos have accepted the offer then they must fulfill the contract at the agreed price Normally however the small print states that there is only acceptance of an offer when payment is taken So I think that if payment has been taken Tesco are probably liable If not then there is probably no contract
home rule for england said: Yes quite correct Offer and acceptance is one of the fundamentals of English Law of Contract However I believe Tescos may be subject to other legislation which could result in a fine if they repeat the offence
rob said: What a scam So they dont have to honour the priceNice bit of publicity and free advertising for struggling Tesco
BungalowBill said: Tesco are under no obligation to sell anything at any price The price is an invitation to treat - look it up
Marlon said: Tesco will slump anyway its blown
Legal Eagle said: sorry happy-ali but you are wrong the law states that the price advertised is an invitation to treat and a contract to sell is only in place if you offer that price AND YOUR OFFER IS THEN ACCEPTED BY THE SELLER If goods are advertised in a shop or online at the wrong price the seller has no obligation in law to sell at that price Its a myth that you can force a shop to sell at the price they advertiseAfraid the campaign to get Tesco to sell at the low price will therefore fail miserably Sorry
paula said: Not true
Alex said: Youre all so stupid The so called mistake is adeliberateact by Tesco to create hype around their website and product and you idiots fall for itevery time There has been loads of similar instances already where Tesco have such price discrepancies if they were genuine I think some people would be fired by now
stoop said: That is simply incorrect and the in all respects the tax man never loses
happy-ali said: Uk law is that they have to sell at the price advertised However the loss correct price - sale price is written off against profit The tax man is the loser but they must supply at the advertised price or risk being sued in court and losing more
Lineswine said: Tesco make MASSIVE profits they can easily afford it - its not like they are a mom n pop store