Ordered multiple available items, after purchase item becomes out of stock, What should happen to the order?

mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 10:49
Last edited 19/12/2016 - 13:58

Hi I have a question about out of stock items that were in stock at time of purchase.

I buy items that are in stock A B and C.
They send items A + B and refund money for C as C is not actually in stock.

What happens if I only wanted A+B because of item C?
Should I be asked if I still want the order?
Or is it perfectly acceptable to just send me the items they have in stock and refund for the other?

Was our agreement for items A+B+C for $ABC dollars, and they broke the agreement and made a new one for A+B for $AB that I haven't actually agreed to?

And if this is all good to do is there a line? For a ridiculous example if i bought a car and car mats, then the cars out of stock and I end up with car mats, Is that OK?

Just a bit curious!

UPDATE:
I was just curious what's generally meant to occur in these situations..
But in my specific case the response I got from wwrd was ridiculously good.
They are hand delivering the out of stock item which they sourced from another retail outlet and refunding the cost. From a customer point of view it doesn't get much better then this response.

General Discussion

Comments

  • PVA on 19/12/2016 - 10:54
    +1

    what are the items, may help people answer.

    • mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 11:39

      The situation that arose the thoughts was that I was buying gifts for two people in a different state from wwrd, now someone is without a gift when I would have just added an extra item if given the option.

      But I'm just generally curious what the obligation is for any purchase.. I often buy extra crap to get free shipping from places so it would be mildly amusing if i ended up with the crap filler and not the item I wanted :)

      • PVA on 19/12/2016 - 11:42
        +2

        I have thought the same before, I buy a phone and case and then phones not available - case is useless then.
        or a coffee pod machine and a ton of pods then find machines not available.

  • blitz on 19/12/2016 - 11:09
    +1

    Did you read the T+Cs of the site? Their policy will be explained there.

  • Savas on 19/12/2016 - 11:26
    +1

    Love your example lol

    • mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 11:41
      +3

      I just picture myself on the couch watching TV with my feet resting on car mats placed on the floor.

  • Scab on 19/12/2016 - 11:29

    if i bought a car and car mats, then the cars out of stock and I end up with car mats, Is that OK?

    What sort of Ozbargainer are you, you should never buy car mats from a car yard?

    • mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 11:34

      Haha that's why the example was ridiculous ;), car mats from car yard, outrageous.

  • mskeggs on 19/12/2016 - 11:36
    +3

    Sounds like every EB Games order ever!
    I would be happiest if the merchant asked what I wanted to do.

  • Hellfire on 19/12/2016 - 12:11
    +2

    They should advise that C is out of stock and offer to refund your money if you don't want to proceed.

    I had a similar experience with EBGames where I bought a Skylander starter set ($15) and 2 Skylander figures ($2-3 each) plus postage of $10. They sent both the figures but said the starter set was out of stock so refunded me the $15. I had to fight them to also refund the postage as I would never have paid for delivery if I had known.

    • mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 12:16
      +1

      Haha that sucks! It seams strange they can just do that?
      Your agreement wasn't for 2 skylander figures, it was for a starter set and 2 skylander figures?
      Isn't there some kind of consumer protection?

      • Noraneko on 19/12/2016 - 12:34
        +3

        Had a pretty much identical experience just last week.

        Ordered a keyboard and a couple of the $9 shirts from EB with a total of $10 postage.

        I got an email the next day saying your order has been shipped and about 2 hours later another email from paypal saying that you've received a partial refund for an amount that matched the value of the keyboard.

        About an hour later I get an email from EB stating that they couldn't send the keyboard.

        Would not have ordered the shirts without the keyboard as it was simply a convenience thing.

        I then had to contact EB to get a refund on the shipping cost (Which wasn't a hassle, just explained), but the fact that I had to actively seek reimbursement is annoying, not to mention the fact that communication about an order change happened after the order was shipped and in all honestly I wouldn't have bothered with the shirts without the keyboard.

        I've raised a query with the ACCC to try and get some idea on what obligations are placed on sellers in this sort of situation as it really feels similar to a bait and switch.

        • mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 13:05

          This is the sort of situation i was thinking of. Keep us updated!

        • Noraneko on 19/12/2016 - 14:33

          @mutardo:

          Will do. Turn around time on these is apparently up to 15 days according to the auto reply email.

        • Noraneko on 23/12/2016 - 10:43

          It would appear from the reply that they are obligated to supply or if unable to, they need to offer a replacement product or service that you agree to.

          Your rights: non-delivery

          If you a pay a business for a product or service, that business must supply you when it said it would. It is illegal for a business to accept payment for products or services they do not intend to supply. If you did not agree when the business would supply you, the business must supply you in a reasonable time. A business must also supply you with the product or service that you agreed to buy, not something different.

          Businesses should take reasonable steps to avoid problems with supply. But it might not be possible for a business to supply you for reasons outside of its control. If a business cannot supply you as agreed, it can fix the problem by offering replacement products or services if you agree to them. You are entitled to a refund if the business does not supply you.

  • mutardo on 19/12/2016 - 13:57
    +2

    UPDATE:
    I was just curious what's generally meant to occur in these situations..
    But in my specific case the response I got from wwrd was ridiculously good.
    They are hand delivering the out of stock item which they sourced from another retail outlet and refunding the cost. From a customer point of view it doesn't get much better then this response.

    • Noraneko on 19/12/2016 - 14:35

      I have a feeling that the response you've received is quite rare. It's great for the customer and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy plus the positive PR is good, but I doubt it happens often (Looking at you EBgames…).

      Glad you've gotten it sorted out ^_^.

  • Randxyz123 on 19/12/2016 - 14:04

    Lets say item C is a Xbox one , item B is a extra controller and item A is a game

    If they send out the controller and game without the Xbox one it is fairly pointless because you can't actually use the controller without the xbone. I would just cancel the order and go somewhere else. If that was the situation I wouldn't expect them to contact me personally to see if I wanted the order however I'd expect that if their returns policy was "no returns/refunds" that they would be flexible.

    • Noraneko on 19/12/2016 - 14:32

      https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees… - 'No refund' signs and expired warranties - It's against the law to have a policy that prohibits refunds/returns.

      If anything is to change with an order, you'd expect to be contacted prior to anything moving forward. Surely you'd think that you've entered into a contract to buy X for Y and that a change of anything should put a hold on the order proceeding any further.

      If not, it is a pretty big hole in protecting consumer rights.

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