Any Legal Eagles here?

[Oggy]

I bought my Pentax at the end of November with a couple of kit lenses. When I went to pay for it, I was quoted significantly less than I was expecting to pay for it. I queried the price and the assistant assured me that this was the correct price for this bundle.

With 20/20 hindsight, I should have looked into it more carefully, but all I wanted to do when I got hame was to play with it - er I mean read the instructions. Subsequently, due to excess work, illness and Christmas, I did not think about it until after Christmas when I set about claiming the cashback. When I looked at the receipt, although the serial number matched that on the box which was correct for the K20d I had bought, it was written up and priced as a K200d. I contacted the shop concerned and was promised correct proof of purchase. Later that day, I got a call apparently from a manager saying I owed them £130. I explained that I had been told It was a bundle, and he said he would look into it and get back to me. I heard nothing more from them so two weeks ago I wrote to them asking what was going on. I got a phonecall saying I owed them £160, but they were prepared to take £30 off that. I asked them to put that in writing and they said they would.

Two weeks later, I have heard nothing.

I am now in a position where I have spent about £700 on the camera, cannot claim my £125 cashback, and cannot register the warranty.

Today I spoke to trading standards and was told that it was too late to return the camera for a refund as I would prefer to do, having seen the shop's standards, even though most of the delay was down to their manager.

Anyone got any ideas?

[geepee]

Once they have agreed a price with you and accepted payment then a valid contract has been entered into. They cannot now ask you for any extra payment and must provide the goods as they have contracted with full warranty.

If you cannot get satisfaction from the suppliers I would contact the manufacturers explaining your position. If you paid by credit card even better, as they are also involved in the contract and you can contact them to resolve the issue.

[AndyTake2]

Done and dusted - they have no redress with regard to the price.
As far as any cashback goes, contact Pentax and give them the serial number, and tell them that the supplier is being a dickhead.

[LargeFormat]

The supplier has a legal obligation to give you a VAT receipt. A VAT or any other receipt that refers to the wrong goods (K200d/KK20d) is not a valid receipt. Demand a valid VAT receipt and threaten that your next call is to HM Revenue and Customs to report fraudulant accounting.

[Flyer5]

The supplier has a legal obligation to give you a VAT receipt. A VAT or any other receipt that refers to the wrong goods (K200d/KK20d) is not a valid receipt. Demand a valid VAT receipt and threaten that your next call is to HM Revenue and Customs to report fraudulant accounting.

Yes, a seller who is registered for the purpose of VAT has to provide a valid VAT receipt for the correct amount if requested, however, under Law of Mistake the retailer can argue there is actually no contract and therefore he has no liability in the matter.

I'd go straight to the manufacturer and ask if you provide serial numbers and dates of purchase will they honour the cashback. If they say no I think you are facing a losing battle. Ensure you complete all the warranty registrations in the boxes (if they exist). You can not prove you purchased the goods you own, therefore you have no warranty.(other than the pentax one)

[Oggy]

Thanks for the replies.

The saga drags on. Having waited two weeks, they did write to me, but were now trying to make out that the problem was that I had the wrong lens (was 55-300, should be 55-200). In the mean time, I had written to them on 21 Jan saying I was fed up with the whole show and would return the camera to them for a full refund and just walk away. They still have not replied.

The best interpretation I can put on the tardiness of their actions is that they are incompetent in the extreme and the worst is that they know that having dragged things out this long, my consumer rights are reduced and I have missed the cashback offer.

I have sent all the paperwork with a covering letter to Pentax, so fingers crossed.

I also have the concern that if I send the camera off for service/repair, it will appear on a list of "wronguns" somewhere.

[LargeFormat]

under Law of Mistake the retailer can argue there is actually no contract and therefore he has no liability in the matter

Yes but this is exactly what Oggy has sought. The supplier has refused to treat the contract as void ab initio and take back the goods with a full refund so, essentially, the supplier has rectified the contract.

[Oggy]

On the good side, it looks as if Pentax are going to honour the cash back agreement. Fair play to them.

[Oggy]

It is now one month since I last wrote to them and I have heard nothing. I appreciate the solution to this problem is not obvious, but the one course of action which I consider completely unacceptable is for them to ignore me.

Given that they have, and for the third time, I feel I have no choice but to name them. They are Park cameras.

Now I am sure most of you will have had satisfactory dealings with them but that would have been with the sales and dispatch department.

I feel you should be aware of the way the management behave when something goes wrong.