Moral dilemma

[mcshane in the 79th]

I purchased a new camera lens at the weekend for £279. Yesterday I got a letter through from the shop saying they had made a mistake and only charged my card £27.99. I checked my receipt (I don't normally look at them till the end of the month), and sure enough it showed I'd only paid £27.99.

Now in this letter they apologise for the mistake and ask for my permission to debit my card the other £250 odd quid.

Now what should I do? Ignore them and hope they don't come knocking on the door, or do the honest thing and pay up?

 

[surrey jim]

if you dont pay your warranty will be void and cant see them doing any business with you in the future,

but hey £250 is a fair chunk and its not as if you stole it

 

[beardy gull]

pay up.

 

[Gully]

Hard call, they made the error and not you, it is really down to you and your conscience. You bought the camera in good faith, but were charged an incorrect price, that is not your fault but theirs...however, if they were to take the balance from your card without your permission then I believe it would be called theft. In that case they would move from being incompetent to wrong.

 

[Beach Hut]

As stated depends if you value the warranty and knowing Retail Shops the person who made the error might get dismissed so can you live with that as well ?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Agree with the Hut. Somebody has made an honest mistake, and you can put them out of their misery.

Did you REALLY not check the amount they had keyed in before you put in your pin number? I bet if they'd moved the decimal point the other way you'd have noticed.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Agree with the Hut. Somebody has made an honest mistake, and you can put them out of their misery.

Did you REALLY not check the amount they had keyed in before you put in your pin number? I bet if they'd moved the decimal point the other way you'd have noticed.

I honestly didn't. I never have done. It will certainly make me in the future though!

I know deep down I'm going to pay the extra, I just got greedy for a bit thinking I could have saved £250, which would have come in handy before xmas. No excuse though and honesty wins.

 

[Cian]

Agree with the Hut. Somebody has made an honest mistake, and you can put them out of their misery.

Did you REALLY not check the amount they had keyed in before you put in your pin number? I bet if they'd moved the decimal point the other way you'd have noticed.

Unless you've got a monster credit limit or an amex it'd probably have bounced though!

I'd pay it myself, although if I owned the shop I'd feel like an utter tool having to ask...

 

[Rookie]

don't pay it its the shops problem. You paid got a receipt so no bother they can't do anything if you don't pay it

 

[medicine man]

I honestly didn't. I never have done. It will certainly make me in the future though!

Wise to check. Once in a Chinese restaurant after divvying up the bill, I asked £16 to be put on my card, the mobile card reader thing was presented and £60 had been put in!
Honest mistake I know, but I think I may have had difficulty getting back the difference if I'd noticed a day or so later.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Ask the retailer if they will give you a discount voucher on any future purchase from them if you agree to having the correct amount debited from your account. A win-win situation.

 

[BensGrandad]

What would have ha[ppened had they pressed too many keys so £2779.00 came up

 

[clapham_gull]

Isn't there some kind of test case regarding this, that falls in the favour of the shop ?

If I was you I'd agree to pay up but ask for a reasonable discount.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

What would have ha[ppened had they pressed too many keys so £2779.00 came up

Like you did in "ha[ppened"?!

I would have been hugely overdrawn

 

[SNOOBS]

Ignore for sure

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I'd suggest that honesty is the best policy. Ignoring it would not be a good idea.

However, there's no harm in writing back to them generously accepting their point, but requesting some kind of gesture to compensate for the inconvenience caused by their error. They can only say no. Nothing ventured...

 

[Hiney]

Pay it

 

[beorhthelm]

dont be a mug. its the companies problem, they've screwed up the bar code. Woudl they refund you if it was 2799? yes, but only after a load of hassle and they wouldnt pay charges/fees for going overdrawn etc. Warranty is still valid too, thats a statutory right and the price has no bearing.

if you still feel a bit bad, give half the bonus money to charity and treat the missus to a meal/dress or whatever.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

If you had paid by any other means, other than a card (eg. cash) and not realised the mistake, they would not have been able to trace you so they would have to swallow the loss, they are just trying in the hope that they can recover it and their error is not your fault.
Equally, The shop assistant equally have checked that they keyed in the correct amount, they are just hoping that you return and / or pay for their error, but you are under no obligation to do so.

If you brought it from a chain store I would not pay the extra, asthey are better able to withstand the loss and actually plan for mistakes and theft of items (not an excuse to steal, and i recommend you don't, but in this case it's not theft, and i believe you'd be a fool to pay it.) However if a small independant, then yes i would pay.

 

[Dr Q]

I wouldn't pay, but would still feel a bit guilty! With regards to the warrenty, if no-one honours it, you could still get it fixed for cheaper than the extra you'll have to pay. Or negotiate a reduction or discount on a future purchase.

I got caught the other way when i bought diesel a while back. I didn't check the readout or reciot when offered the chip and pin pad, and only noticed it on my bank statement. It was for £75 for which that amount of diesel wouldn't have physically fitted in the car! They wouldn't refund as it was technically my mistake for not checking. Funnily enough it was our local Shell garage which I believe Shell had a big issue with Chip and Pin and now only do paper signatures.