Legal Question in Business Law in United Kingdom

Re: Internet sale not honored

You don't state what the price of the purchase is. Unless it is a large purchase (thousands of dollars) the law is almost irrelevant. When you buy over the internet from an out of state vendor your remedies are very limited from a practical point of view.

The exact legalistic answer to your question cannot be given without more detailed information. Unless the purchase is large, I would advise that you are best to assume nothing can be done. Of course, if you don't want the item with the shipping charge requested, and if you purchased by credit card, you can reverse your credit card charge and just not make the purchase.

Hope this is some help.

If the purchase is large, you would be well advised to consult a lawyer on the issue in circumstances where the lawyer can obtain a much more detailed picture. If so, please feel free to contact us.

Good luck!

Re: Internet sale not honored

I agree 100% with the previous reply, which gives practical advice but does not really attempt to answer the basic question.

Responsibility for the type of shipping used and the cost and risks thereof depend upon the terms of sale. Most sales of goods are FOB the seller's location. That means title passes when the goods are delivered to the carrier. The costs of transportation and the risk of delay or damage enroute are borne by the buyer.

However, the contract of sale can and often does vary the more usual FOB concept. Some long-distance transactions include delivery to the customer at the seller's cost and risk, i.e. the insurance and freight charges are included in the price of the goods, and the seller bears the risk of under-quoted freight charges.

These principles also apply to transactions originated through electronic media in general. However, if you are using eBay or some similar service, the principles can be modified by the rules and traditions of that service.

On eBay, in most auctions the seller will specify shipping terms, and I would consider those terms binding on buyer and seller. It is for that reason that many eBay sellers specify that international shipping charges will have to be determined after the auction. Nevertheless, the auction is final and the buyer does not have the right to walk away from the deal because the charges are too high. Of course, the charges must be actual rates and not just an attempt by the seller to pad his profit margin.

So, the bottom line is you have to read the terms of sale, including the rules of the electronic medium (if one was used), and see if freight charges are the buyer's responsibility (the more usual situation) or whether the seller has assumed the cost and financial risk of delivery.