Woolworth Online 64% off Liquor Debacle Follow up from June 2015

Mr BoMBAStiG on 10/07/2015 - 09:55
Last edited 10/07/2015 - 10:09

Some of you will remember last month when Woolies offered a range of spirits and beer for 64% off but only for Sydney-siders near the Mascot warehouse. Trouble was, none of us knew it was only being picked from one warehouse and Woolies charged everyone's cards.

We all got refunds, had a grumble on the phone and got $20 gift cards; I lodged a complaint with NSW Fair Trading.

I ended up getting multiple calls from "senior team leaders" from Woolies all very apologetic and promised to "pass feedback on" to the online and warehouse teams. I even got an email from customer service acknowledging all the managers I spoke to but still just repeating section 17.1 of their T&Cs. However all of them said they didn't have to fill the order so I was out of luck.

I just got a response from Fair Trading basically repeating again what I have been told from Woolies. I'm tempted to lodge a claim with the NSW tribunal since I love justice and have gone to court over fair trading issues in the past.

What are your thoughts OzBargain? Should I drop it?

Argument summary:

  • Woolworths…

14.1: We may cancel any Order or part of an Order (including any Orders that we have accepted) without any liability to you for that cancellation at any time if:
(a) the requested Products in that Order are not available
17.1: You acknowledge that a Product that you order may be out of stock or temporarily unavailable. If this happens, then we will not be able to provide you with that Product.

  • Australian Consumer Law…

Misleading conduct, sect 33: "A person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is liable to mislead the public as to … the quantity of any goods."

Bait advertising, sect 35: "(2) A person who, in trade or commerce, advertises goods or services for supply at a specified price must offer such goods or services for supply at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable having regard to:
(a) the nature of the market in which the person carries on business" (aka Woolies are able to supply large amounts of alcohol, it's what they do).

Wrongly accepting payment, sect 36: "(3) A person must not, in trade or commerce, accept payment or other consideration for goods or services if, at the time of the acceptance:
(a) there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person will not be able to supply the goods or services" (If you have one store filling these orders, what do you expect will happen?)

Poll Options

  • 35
    Drop it you whinging bastard
  • 16
    Pursue justice like the Dark Knight would
  • 4
    I'm indifferent because I don't live in that area of Sydney and never had the offer available to me
General Discussion

Related Stores

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Comments

  • DealzEddy123 on 10/07/2015 - 10:02

    ummm..so what does section 17.1 state?

  • Bonsaichop on 10/07/2015 - 10:20
    +2

    It appears that not only you got a refund but some received a gift card due to the mistake. No harm no foul..

    Fair enough it appears to be a mistake, its run by humans who are prone to mistakes. I'm sure you've made a few yourself and i'm certain you wouldn't be too impressed if someone picked up on a trivial error you made during the course of your life that was an honest mistake, then sued you for everything you have?

    Just let it go man.. keep on hunting for the next bargain instead of kicking up a stink over nothing.

  • happydude on 10/07/2015 - 10:31

    Watch these, it's lame but it's informative - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wL59SzvZ1Y and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl6ftvz0i5s

  • iratepirate on 10/07/2015 - 10:47

    Go hard mate! For entertainment value alone it's worth it.

    I don't think these online shops should take money from your account until the goods are being loaded on the truck to be sent to you.

    In my opinion once they take your money they have accepted your offer to buy…

    • Settero on 10/07/2015 - 11:44

      that would be a little unfair to the merchant don't you think. and it would also slow down the process as well.

  • RockyRaccoon on 10/07/2015 - 11:10
    -2

    Go for it, and while you are at it, why not abuse some greenie facist racist and save the world from some far away dictatorship.

    Either that or take up law and make some money out of being a rear ended orator 😷

  • indium on 10/07/2015 - 12:29
    +2

    I'm confused, I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve?

    It loos like this is the first time this type of issue has happened with discounted liquor so your goal should be to have them acknowledge there mistake so this type of thing doesn't happen again which it looks like they've done?

    I guess you are trying to have your order of liquor fulfilled then… was coming out on top with a gift card not enough for you?

    • Mr BoMBAStiG on 10/07/2015 - 12:31
      -5

      I wanted it fulfilled, a $20 gift card pales in comparison to saving thousands of dollars.

      • indium on 10/07/2015 - 12:31
        +2

        you're dreaming :P

        • Mr BoMBAStiG on 10/07/2015 - 12:32
          +1

          At least they're free!

      • 8anddrank on 10/07/2015 - 15:52
        +2

        A $15 gift card pales in to comparison with two hours spent driving across Sydney to pick it up from their click & collect depot only to find 95% of the order had been cancelled.

        • [Deactivated] on 11/07/2015 - 01:09
          +1

          I think any customer who received a C&C pickup notification without being told their order was incomplete has a very valid gripe.

          Same as those customers who only received a non-essential token product (like milk or tissues) and were charged the delivery fee, when 99% of their order was unfulfilled.

          Those customers deserve at least a couple of bottles of their favourite tipple for the very real inconvenience.

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 10/07/2015 - 12:43

    Making a fuss about nothing (mainly for your own entertainment, you imply?) just makes it less likely that places will be inclined to offer discounts (i.e. to all of us) in the future. So in that sense, it's selfish. Pursuing businesses for personal gain after they've made honest mistakes, despite not being out of pocket at the end of the day, is in my book just being an opportunistic (profanity). No offense intended; you asked for our thoughts on the matter, and those are mine.

    • Mr BoMBAStiG on 10/07/2015 - 16:32
      -4

      I can see your point however I am more sceptical of someone like Woolies. In May 2015 they relaunched their new online shopping site and whenever a big company launches a website, they want big traffic to come in so they can show it off. What better way to get heaps of traffic than to cut alcohol prices by 65%?

      Now you get everyone signed up, credit cards linked and addresses entered; then cancel everything. Now they have all these potential new customers that are 100% ready to shop and receive targeted marketing material.

      It wasn't an honest mistake, they purposefully dropped prices to a) drive traffic and b) guarantee they would wipe out the stock at a warehouse. Why should we, the customer, have to cop the inconvenience of signing up, processing an order, finding the money to pay, plan to be at home for delivery or drive to click and collect just because they couldn't be bothered running an effective stock management system?

      They are Australia's largest supermarket chain and you are defending them like they are your local milk bar who made a whoopsie.

      • RockyRaccoon on 11/07/2015 - 07:33

        It wasn't an honest mistake

        Now you are becoming ridiculous. The company is so big that it needs to geta few dollars of interest out of a few unsuspecting ozbargainers.

        Maybe as you say

        they couldn't be bothered running an effective stock management system?

        inefficient, but that's not dishonest

  • ozbjunkie on 10/07/2015 - 12:57
    -4

    Actually, there is harm and foul.

    My information was provided as part of a contract, completed through me pressing order, and my card being charged. There is no way to get this information back. Essentially, the value in the transaction is not only a transfer of money (which has been returned to me also) but also ii) exchange of information and iii) opportunity cost in terms of time wasted browsing unavailable products.

    I would add my name to the list of people interesting in following this up.

    Here's a draft of a letter which I failed to send due to laziness (honesty is important).

    Dear Sir / Madam

    I placed an order on XXX for 23 bottles of spirit, of which only 1 was delivered, despite the website clearly displaying these items as available for purchase. Upon further investigation, it seems that a great number of customers attempting to purchase clearance stock were left with cancelled or partially-filled orders. In short, your website advertised products were not in sufficient quantity to satisfy reasonable demand.

    I note the terms and conditions listed on your website, particularly
    5.1. We reserve the right to accept or reject your Order for any reason, including if the requested Product is not available, if there is an error in the price or the product description posted on the Site or an error in your Order.

    5.2. Each Order placed for Products through the Site that we accept results in a separate binding agreement between you and us for the supply of those Products. For each Order accepted by us, we will supply the Products in that Order to you in accordance with these terms and conditions.

    5.3. If we reject an Order placed through the Site, then we will endeavour to notify you of that rejection at the time you place the Order or within a reasonable time after you submit your Order.

    However I also note the terms of the Trade Practices Act, which states
    2.27 ‘Bait advertising’ usually happens when a business advertises goods at a certain price but does not have a reasonable supply for customers to buy.
    The terms and conditions listed on your website do not limit your responsibilities under Australian law.

    I would like the rest of my order filled as identical stock becomes available, or otherwise as similar stock becomes available. I understand that this transaction would not involve a net financial loss for Woolworths. I also wish to express that my personal investment of time and energy choosing a well matched series of items was considerable. I further wish to express that the exchange of personal information which occurred during my transaction was based upon an agreement to provide products, which I entered in good faith. In failing to satisfy a reasonable portion of my order, or indeed, to stock appropriate quantities to fulfill the vast majority of online orders, Woolworths may have breached conditions of the Trade Practices Act. Finally, if this matter is not able to be resolved through filling the order, I would like to escalate this matter internally. I am open to suggestions from your complain resolutions team.

    Kind Regards,

    All of us?

    • Mr BoMBAStiG on 10/07/2015 - 14:22
      -3

      Guarantee you everyone down voting in this thread would change their tune if they had their orders cancelled.

      • Nutrino on 10/07/2015 - 18:48
        +1

        You my friend are a ozbargain extemist. Hat off to you. allahu akbar.

      • kima on 11/07/2015 - 10:43

        your right, there was a deal with sample boxes and everyone was carrying on about that.

        I think you should drop it. I really hate companies baiting people like this but its not worth it for you. although some people will want you to do it for their interest they hardly care about the cost to you and its not really worth it.

    • grasstown on 11/07/2015 - 08:40

      But you call it clearance stock. And yet you go down the sufficient quantity avenue. Which is it, as you want to claim misleading, bait etc. how do they work with clearance prices at 64% off? Clearance not reduced ?

  • Meho2026 on 11/07/2015 - 07:58

    Do it for sure, it's the principle. I think it's great, I do stuff like that all the time and thoroughly enjoy it. Keep us up to date with your progress

  • aocal on 11/07/2015 - 11:02

    An online toy shop run by a solo trader has been closed due to slow dispatching of orders. My woolworths order often have no stock available after payment taken.

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