According to a report from Paris-based law firm Franklin,
writing for International Law Office, the TV, a big screen type
known as a retroprojector, was priced on the unnamed seller's web
site at around €750, plus shipping.
An on-line order was accepted with an order confirmation the
same day. The seller then refused to deliver the goods, arguing
that there was no contract because the price had been labelled
incorrectly.
According to Franklin, a contract may be declared invalid in
France if the consent to enter into the contract was due to an
error "affecting the very substance of the merchandise" – such as
the price.
The Strasbourg Tribunal of First Instance agreed with the
seller's argument: there was no contract because of the pricing
error.
The tribunal was influenced by the fact that rivals were selling
the same product for around 10 times the price shown on the web
site, and concluded that the price offered by the seller "resulted
from a purely material price labelling error on the e-merchant's IT
system," said Franklin's report. It declared the sale "null and
void."
A UK court may be less sympathetic to the argument that an
agreed contract contained a mistake – although it is an argument
that a seller may try to run. The better solution is for the web
site owner to prevent itself becoming legally bound to fulfil
orders that are placed in the event of incorrect prices. There are
three steps for the e-tailer.
First, the wording of the conditions of sale must make clear
that the point at which a contract is formed with the customer is
not the point at which the automated acknowledgement is
received. These conditions should state that when an order is
placed, the customer is making an offer and that if
accepted it will result in a binding contract.
Second, the conditions of sale must be properly incorporated in
the on-line sales process. They are not binding if the customer
could not be expected to find them. (See the Netscape stories in
the links below)
Third, the wording of the acknowledgement must reflect the
conditions of sale – making it clear that the acknowledgement is
not to be interpreted as acceptance of the customer's offer. (See
the Amazon.co.uk stories in the links below)
