Online glitch gives Brick customers 50% discount; price cut won't be honoured

[rob the knob]

If the deal on The Brick website seemed too good to be true, that's because it was.

In a posting on its Facebook page, the widely known furniture and appliance chain said Friday that a technical glitch mistakenly gave online customers an unintended discount on Christmas eve and Christmas day.

The Brick said online buyers got a 50 per cent discount on their purchases once the items were added to their online shopping cart and checked out.

"The advertised price in the flyer and on the product pages was correct when these customers added the item to their shopping card and did not reflect this additional discount until the shopping cart was checked out," the company said of the error.

"The Brick apologies for the confusion and is currently working to contact all affected customers to advise of correct pricing," it said, adding that it would not honour the online price.

"We recognize the confusion that occurred and are offering to affected customers 10 per cent of their affected online purchase price back as a credit toward their next purchase, which can be used on any item, including regular and sale priced items in all categories of the store," it said.

The posting did not say how many online customers were affected or the value of the merchandise involved.

[FraserB]

"We recognize the confusion that occurred and are offering to affected customers 10 per cent of their affected online purchase price back as a credit toward their next purchase, which can be used on any item, including regular and sale priced items in all categories of the store," it said.

This is hilarious, they can't seriously think that this is going to solve it.

I know that in Quebec, they are SOL on this if the customer got a confirmation email. But they will wind up losing far more than the losses due to the mix up by taking trying to cancel orders on people or trying to charge more to their cards.

Delta did the same thing by accident and is honoring all the tickets that we sold for the incorrect price. The Brick should be saying that it will honor all the sales prior to them discovering the error and then fire the IT people who messed up.

[JAYMEZ]

Wow id be pissed .. Especially if they try and say its Final Sale ..


Brick :thumbsdow

[natty54]

Meh nothing new. Most online companies have terms stating they are not responsible for errors. Its their choice if they choose to honor them or not.

I have bought a few things knowing that they may or not be honored

[Kanto_Terrors]

The Brick never fails to disappoint. I've read so many complaints about them. It's amazing how they are still in business.

I had an experience there on boxing day. My wife and I are looking around for washer/dryer so we went to the Brick to see if they have any good deals, but we had already gone to the Future Shop and saw washer/dryer that we like.

So we headed straight to where the washer/dryers are and when we got there we were approached by a young sales guy. He told us the features of the washing machine and was quite convincing I could almost picture my clothes inside the washer being soaked, foamed, and rinsed cleaned. Long story short, I said that Future Shop has the same ones for $50 cheaper and asked him if he can knock off another $50 off the tag price. He replied: Why would I do that? Geez...I dunno sales guy...I simply said "ok" raised both my eyebrows and smiled awkwardly. Then turned around and drove to Sears. Luckily, Sears have the same washer/dryer for 5% less than Future Shop price.

Sorry for the poor narration.

[rob the knob]

worst part,

for sample, you want to buy big screen tv this year. you buy from brick, get confirmation, have happy christmas. then you pass over other deals because you own new tv. then BRICK sends you email that you no in fact own new tv.

boo BRICK.

[J.M.]

The Brick is a fucking joke.

[eblend]

Originally posted by rob the knob
worst part,

for sample, you want to buy big screen tv this year. you buy from brick, get confirmation, have happy christmas. then you pass over other deals because you own new tv. then BRICK sends you email that you no in fact own new tv.

boo BRICK.

Well if you decided to buy at the brick in the first place, that means you found their advertised price to be the best out of all the stores and went ahead to buy there. When you checked out the price was ever lower so you were happy as a pig, but then they got back to you and tell you that no, the price is actually the price that was advertised that you accepted in the first place..why would you be pissed? You accepted the price, decided to buy there, got a surprise discount, discount didn't work out, you still get item without the surprise discount..


It's not like people decided to buy at the brick and then passed over the same TV at futureshop.., most people wouldn't have known about the discount at checkout unless they are on RFD and were hoarding like they usually do

[Cos]

.

[frozenrice]

So if I get this right, the flyer and product pages showed the correct price when these shoppers were looking at the items. They added these items to the shopping cart knowing what the price was. When they checked out they got an extra discount over and above the advertised sale price? Now they're b*tch*ng because the Brick asked them to pay back the extra discount they got in error? Though I'm not a huge fan of a big business like the Brick, I think they're in the right on this. If the tables were turned, and a customer was accidentally overcharged, I doubt the customer would walk away from it without putting up a fight over it.

[FraserB]

The problem though is how it looks, even if they are in the right. Bad press will cost them more than the error, Delta probably realized this and that's why they are honoring those tickets.

They are SOL in Quebec, so those orders have to be honored regardless

[bignerd]

I read somewhere online that the airlines are forced by the government (I think in the US) to honor whatever prices they have on their website even if they are erroneous.

Was something to do with protecting consumers,making the prices "more transparent" and pricing less confusing.

[frozenrice]

The commercial of the lady running from the store while shouting "Start the car!!!! Start the car!!!!" is running through my head except instead of IKEA its' the Brick.

[Seth1968]

So let's say I ordered a laptop, and due to the 50% additional discount, I ordered 3 more. Does that mean I have to pay for the 3 more? Not that I would pay, but it's odd the article never mentioned that scenario.

Furthermore, despite a disclaimer, and the fact that the system wasn't hacked, is the confirmation not a legal contract that they HAVE to honor?

[bourge73]

I don't really see what all the fuss is about.
You go to the bank machine and you have a million dollars showing on your balance (lets say your not Rage2)Even though it's a banking error and you know it. You go out and spend it and figure you don't have to pay it back
When the bank realizes the error? No sympathy here

[Shlade]

You all must be Asian if you're mad about a bargain error...

[dj_rice]

Originally posted by FraserB
The problem though is how it looks, even if they are in the right. Bad press will cost them more than the error, Delta probably realized this and that's why they are honoring those tickets.

They are SOL in Quebec, so those orders have to be honored regardless


http://globalnews.ca/news/1051401/the-brick-angers-customers-after-going-back-on-boxing-day-sales/

Yeah in this news link, it states they are legally bound to follow through with the discount in Quebec according to the Consumer Protection Act.

[Isaiah]

Easy come, easy go.

I don't understand how anyone can actually think they are entitled to the discount. If someone got the surprise discount or read about it and then went shop crazy, their excessive purchases are a result of their own greed.

If the additional discount was not advertised anywhere else, why should they be entitled due to a software glitch? It seems more like a greedy group of entitled materialistic shoppers. Had the discount not been reversed, I wouldn't be surprised to see many items pop up on kijiji.

Consider a hypothetical scenario: what if rather than 50% off the software had given them 100% off at checkout? People would have gone absolutely mad and looted the site. Would those purchases have to be honored?

And Quebec . . . Seriously? That province gets slammed at every turn whenever they come up in the news. Now their commercial legislation is being used as some kind of model? Quebec may as well be its own planet. Their laws aren't really relevant to the discussion in terms of whether the discounts should be honored.

[Type_S1]

I think the brick should have to honour it. Once you pay with a credit card the deal is done and over. If you bought an item in the store that was marked wrong then they called you after the fact and asked you to bring it back would you? No, probably not. Deal is already done and over, tough luck.

I was at Leon's last year and they had a leather chair priced less than half the cost of the matching leather stool. I was luckily shopping for 2 comfy chairs. I asked the guy why the stool was so expensive and said "wow, that is a good price for those chairs. Let me check." Comes back and says they mislabelled the chairs and they should have been 4 times the price. They honered it and I picked up 2 wicked leather chairs and a stool for under $900.

[A790]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Easy come, easy go.

I don't understand how anyone can actually think they are entitled to the discount. If someone got the surprise discount or read about it and then went shop crazy, their excessive purchases are a result of their own greed.

If the additional discount was not advertised anywhere else, why should they be entitled due to a software glitch? It seems more like a greedy group of entitled materialistic shoppers. Had the discount not been reversed, I wouldn't be surprised to see many items pop up on kijiji.

Consider a hypothetical scenario: what if rather than 50% off the software had given them 100% off at checkout? People would have gone absolutely mad and looted the site. Would those purchases have to be honored?

And Quebec . . . Seriously? That province gets slammed at every turn whenever they come up in the news. Now their commercial legislation is being used as some kind of model? Quebec may as well be its own planet. Their laws aren't really relevant to the discussion in terms of whether the discounts should be honored.
Because the entitled customer is always right, right?

[LollerBrader]

Originally posted by Type_S1
I think the brick should have to honour it. Once you pay with a credit card the deal is done and over. If you bought an item in the store that was marked wrong then they called you after the fact and asked you to bring it back would you? No, probably not. Deal is already done and over, tough luck.


I'm sure there is legal precedent to guide this.

That being said, there's really only one reasonable choice for the brick here, and that is to honor it. The goodwill to do so is cheap, and the backlash against not doing it will be expensive.

The place must be run by fucking trained monkeys if this isn't immediately clear.

And as for firing the IT staff.... Is it really so clear? What if the mistake was by an overworked individual who has been begging them to hire him a teammate? What if IT was provided the wrong information by another department?

Given what this exercise already says about the brick, the problem is likely more systemic than it is a simple typo.

[spikerS]

my $0.02

Since the system was not hacked, it is a purchase contract.

By offering items for sale online, they accept that there will be purchase contracts made without a human processing the order and verifying things at the time of transaction. If the website offers an item for X amount of dollars, and a consumer agrees to purchase it for that price, and the virtual store front accepts full and complete payment for that item, that item no longer belongs to the vendor, and now belongs to the consumer. At this point, they can not refuse the sale, unless for a couple of reasons, like oversold discontinued stock, or items misrepresented.

These things can happen, and do happen all the time.

If the brick had been smart about it, they would have said they over sold their stock, or something similar, refunded purchase price, and offered a further 10% discount.

The brick set up their website to act as an agent on their behalf to facilitate purchases. This was their own fuck up. If an employee fucked up at the till and only charged $5 instead of $10, you pay for it, and get a receipt, it is now yours. They can't stop you before the door and say they charged you wrong, it is your item now.

The Brick can not legally stop delivery of these items, and if they refuse to deliver or allow pick up, it could be considered theft.

This is my understanding of purchase contracts, I very well could be wrong.

[schocker]

There is probably some terms you agree to when purchasing, and I do not believe you are billed until it ships so that is probably how they are covered. This happens a lot with the bigger stores with pricing errors like this.

[tirebob]

Right from the Bricks own policy and disclaimer...

"Pricing and Credit

The Brick endeavours to provide current and accurate information on the Website. However, misprints, errors, inaccuracies, omissions (including incorrect specifications for products) or other errors may sometimes occur. The Brick cannot guarantee that products and services advertised on the Website will be available when ordered or thereafter. The Brick does not warrant that the content of the Website including, without limitation, product descriptions or photographs, is accurate or complete.

The Brick reserves the right to: (a) correct any error, inaccuracy or omission at any time without prior notice or liability to you or any other person; (b) change at any time the products and services advertised or made available for sale on the Website, the prices, fees, charges and specifications of such products and services, any promotional offers and any other Website content without any notice or liability to you or any other person; (c) reject, correct, cancel or terminate any order, including accepted orders for any reason and (d) limit quantities available for sale or sold.

The advertisements on the Website are invitations to you to make offers to purchase products and services on the Website and are not offers to sell. All prices and other amounts appearing on the Website are quoted in Canadian dollars. Prices posted on this Website may differ from those posted in stores owned and operated or franchised by The Brick Group.

For all of the 'Do not Pay' offers on approved credit (O.A.C.) only on your Credit Card, any delivery charges, applicable taxes, and administration fees are payable at the time of purchase. The remaining balance is due at the end of the no interest period. Please refer to your Credit Card Account Holder Application and Agreement for details relating to use of the Credit Card.

Some restrictions and conditions apply to all offers. Please call 1-800-97-BRICK for complete details or visit any location of The Brick Group.

The Brick Group offers limited-time sales values, special buys and items. Due to competitive market pressures, prices are subject to change. The Brick Group reserves the right to correct, at any time, any pricing errors and to refuse to complete a sale that is the subject of a pricing error.

The Brick Group charges provincial sales tax in every province as applicable to avoid the need for customers to conduct a self assessment as required by Provincial governments.

http://www1.thebrick.com/brickb2c/jsp/ancillary/bodyOnlyTemplate.jsp?pageName=terms_conditions&_requestid=340823


I hate the Brick as much as the next guy, but really mistakes happen and people are just greedy. Even knowing it is a mistake they still want something for nothing. I honour my mistakes in pricing to a point, but I will not give stuff away for massively less than I paid for it just because I forgot to put a zero on the end of my card when I was writing something down. Taking blatant advantage of someone for a simple mistake is not good character...

[spikerS]

It is a little different that your scenario bob as yours is a price quote.

These are actual and finalized transactions.

And the brick or any retailer can make up what ever policies they want. But this can not in any way conflict with contract law. My discussion is not about getting something for free, but if what the brick is doing is legal or not in this situatuon.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by spikers
It is a little different that your scenario bob as yours is a price quote.

These are actual and finalized transactions.

And the brick or any retailer can make up what ever policies they want. But this can not in any way conflict with contract law. My discussion is not about getting something for free, but if what the brick is doing is legal or not in this situatuon.

That's exactly what I've been trying to say in a much more laconic form. You can't override REAL law with policies or disclaimers.

I have no opinion on the morality of the topic. I'm just interested in the legal repercussions.

[know1edge]

fuck it nvm

[luxor]

Originally posted by spikers
The Brick can not legally stop delivery of these items, and if they refuse to deliver or allow pick up, it could be considered theft.


Theft?

Let's see the definition of theft in the Criminal Code:

322. (1) Every one commits theft who fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his/her use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent

(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;
(b) to pledge it or deposit it as security;
(c) to part with it under a condition with respect to its return that the person who parts with it may be unable to perform; or
(d) to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be restored in the condition in which it was at the time it was taken or converted.

Tell me how when The Brick refunds you, it still somehow makes you the owner of said items and how exactly are they "thieving" you in that case? You automatically don't own said items anymore with a refund, doesn't matter how good of an online lawyer you think you are.


Originally posted by spikers
It is a little different that your scenario bob as yours is a price quote.

These are actual and finalized transactions.


Jesus fucking christ what part of "(c) reject, correct, cancel or terminate any order, including accepted orders for any reason" do you not understand. It clearly says ACCEPTED ORDERS too, meaning yes a finalized transaction. It doesn't matter! You guys are SO CHEAP! I bet each and everyone one of you would have done the same thing The Brick did if you were the seller and your website fucked up.

:whocares:

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by luxor


Theft?

Let's see the definition of theft in the Criminal Code:

322. (1) Every one commits theft who fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his/her use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent

(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;
(b) to pledge it or deposit it as security;
(c) to part with it under a condition with respect to its return that the person who parts with it may be unable to perform; or
(d) to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be restored in the condition in which it was at the time it was taken or converted.

Tell me how when The Brick refunds you, it still somehow makes you the owner of said items and how exactly are they "thieving" you in that case? You automatically don't own said items anymore with a refund, doesn't matter how good of an online lawyer you think you are.



Jesus fucking christ what part of "(c) reject, correct, cancel or terminate any order, including accepted orders for any reason" do you not understand. It clearly says ACCEPTED ORDERS too, meaning yes a finalized transaction. It doesn't matter! You guys are SO CHEAP! I bet each and everyone one of you would have done the same thing The Brick did if you were the seller and your website fucked up.

:whocares:

Slow down cowboy.

As Spikers, myself, and others have pointed out, we're interested in contract law, NOT theft or the morality of the subject.

BTW- If you don't "give a fuck", then why did you post?

[schocker]

They have not paid for it until it ships, thus the contract has not been fulfilled as no consideration has been exchanged. Their terms form the contract and the consideration is the furniture/payment.

[A790]

Originally posted by schocker
They have not paid for it until it ships, thus the contract has not been fulfilled as no consideration has been exchanged. Their terms form the contract and the consideration is the furniture/payment.
This.

Unless they have billed and charged your credit card they are under no obligation to honour the errored pricing.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by A790

This.

Unless they have billed and charged your credit card they are under no obligation to honour the errored pricing.

If what you and Shocker say is correct by law, then WTF?

That's like you and I signing a contract for a sale, but the seller can change the contract until said product is in your hands.

That doesn't sound right to me.

[schocker]

Originally posted by Seth1968
If what you and Shocker say is correct by law, then WTF?

That's like you and I signing a contract for a sale, but the seller can change the contract until said product is in your hands.

That doesn't sound right to me.
That is how contracts work. Here is a definition from wikipedia

In common law legal systems, a contract is an agreement having a lawful object entered into voluntarily by two or more parties, each of whom intends to create one or more legal obligations between them. The elements of a contract are "offer" and "acceptance" by "competent persons" having legal capacity who exchange "consideration" to create "mutuality of obligation."

With their terms they are covered in case of a mistake like this so once they would no longer honor that price, the contract was void. So no they couldn't raise the price on their own and try to make you pay more as the terms had change.

[Seth1968]

Shocker,

"Acceptance" in that definition is in relation to the terms of the contract, not delivery of said service/product.

If the the credit card was charged, then the the contract was fulfilled.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by Seth1968
Shocker,

"Acceptance" in that definition is in relation to the terms of the contract, not delivery of said service/product.

If the the credit card was charged, then the the contract was fulfilled.

agreed.

Right. this is not rocket science in my understanding of contract law.

The brick's terms, conditions and store policies CAN NOT be in violation of the standards of contract law, and if they are, they are rendered null and void either in entirety or in part.

The Brick created their website to be an agent to facilitate sales on their behalf, and they have chosen to automate their side of things.

The website offered for sale a specific product at a displayed price. The consumer sees the advertised price, agrees to the price, and provides a method of payment.

The sale is not complete at this point, and can still be cancelled by either party.

Once a receipt is provided to the customer, payment or deposit accepted, the terms of the deal are considered locked down, and can not be changed unless both sides agree.

The Brick in this instance, (if they indeed processed payment on products), can not even refund the charges to the customer and keep the item legally, unless the customer agrees to it, because at this point, the customer legally owns what ever it is they purchased (again, assuming that their CC was charged).

This is all based on my understanding and limited knowledge of contract law, and it's guidelines. I would be very interested in knowing the opinion of an actual lawyer that has experience with this.

[Kloubek]

As project manager of a large national retail website, I have a couple of things to say about this.

Firstly, a company cannot advertise a price, and have sales at that price, and then not honour the price. This is against the law, and I would imagine the Competition Bureau will be looking long and hard at these actions from the Brick - even if the "advertising" in question was not intentional. This situation is a bit unique in the fact that the Bureau's rules are typically written in regards to the nature of brick and mortar store purchases and advertising. I imagine there could be some leeway or grey areas when it comes to online selling.

The second thing I wanted to mention is that we had a similar instance like this recently. One of our team members accidentally put a promotion into the system whereby if someone bought one pair of shoes, the second would be $10. She made the promotion cover quite a few shoes, and there were a several "customers" who found this out, and took full advantage of it... buying tens of pairs of shoes worth significantly over $100 for only $10. By the time we realized the mistake, we lost a lot of money. I'm not at liberty to say how much, but let's just say it was significant. We honoured all purchases, as any moral company should. Yes, it was a huge hit but it was the right thing to do. And despite the fact I imagine the hit would be *massive*, The Brick should do the same, imo.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by luxor


Tell me how when The Brick refunds you, it still somehow makes you the owner of said items and how exactly are they "thieving" you in that case? You automatically don't own said items anymore with a refund, doesn't matter how good of an online lawyer you think you are.

Because, IF THEY HAVE PROCESSED PAYMENT, that items is no longer theirs, and belongs to the person who purchased it. If they do anything with it, even refunding it, they have :

(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;

Their could be an argument of the purchaser being made whole with a refund, but again, they would need consent from the property owner to initiate it.



[/b]

Jesus fucking christ what part of "(c) reject, correct, cancel or terminate any order, including accepted orders for any reason" do you not understand. It clearly says ACCEPTED ORDERS too, meaning yes a finalized transaction. It doesn't matter! You guys are SO CHEAP! I bet each and everyone one of you would have done the same thing The Brick did if you were the seller and your website fucked up.

:whocares: [/B]

again, they can make all sorts of legal sounding terms and conditions they want, but, they can not supersede Canadian contract law and it's standards.

I am not trying to pretend to be a lawyer, but I do have knowledge in many different areas of life, as I am sure you do too. I also said that what I am stating is also to the best of my understanding, nor am I being condescending to anyone. I give you a solid B for trying to be internet tough tho.

[spikerS]

oh look, global actually did a story on this too, and were even nice enough to provide the relevant parts of the consumer protection act.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1051401/the-brick-angers-customers-after-going-back-on-boxing-day-sales/

[schocker]

That is about Quebec shoppers though spikers. I believe they are the only province where they would have to honor that.

[spikerS]

yes, but it also cites the consumer protection act as well.

[luxor]

I ordered a full set of BBK from a large US vendor's website on black Friday 2012, this company sells many OEM performance parts, in total it was supposed to be over $6000 regular price and my total somehow came to $300 with order confirmation but no CC charge, the company didn't honor it. Turns out lots of people tried jumping on this "deal" as well as it was posted on the forum board and it went viral. No lawsuits came about and they cancelled all the band wagon orders and no one complained like we have here. Majority of those customers were Americans living in the US of A so you'd think they'd sue, nope. Good luck with that here, maybe Quebec. I still ended up buying the BBK for a about $5000 with the BF discount BECAUSE I ALREADY INTENDED TO SPEND THAT MUCH. I bet majority of those ghetto broke asses jumped the band wagon as well that's why they are making it such a big deal.


Originally posted by spikers
oh look, global actually did a story on this too, and were even nice enough to provide the relevant parts of the consumer protection act.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1051401/the-brick-angers-customers-after-going-back-on-boxing-day-sales/

Quebec of course. Brand new 60" for $500? A "limited time offer online", "early boxing day deal" WOW.

http://www.1clickcd.com/files/NAS4/covers/art-371969-1380289826.jpg

[spikerS]

Originally posted by luxor
I ordered a full set of BBK from a large US vendor's website on black Friday 2012, this company sells many OEM performance parts, in total it was supposed to be over $6000 regular price and my total somehow came to $300 with order confirmation but no CC charge, the company didn't honor it. Turns out lots of people tried jumping on this "deal" as well as it was posted on the forum board and it went viral. No lawsuits came about and they cancelled all the band wagon orders and no one complained like we have here. Majority of those customers were Americans living in the US of A so you'd think they'd sue, nope. Good luck with that here, maybe Quebec. I still ended up buying the BBK for a about $5000 with the BF discount BECAUSE I ALREADY INTENDED TO SPEND THAT MUCH. I bet majority of those ghetto broke asses jumped the band wagon as well that's why they are making it such a big deal.


Point made, well done! Now, if you are quite done agreeing with me...

[schocker]

Originally posted by spikers
yes, but it also cites the consumer protection act as well.
Ah, didn't watch the video, just saw the document was for quebec as each province has their own consumer protection act.

The proper thing of course would be to honor it but with so many people probably abusing the glitch, they gave the dumb 10% off.

A few weeks ago for example keurig had like order a pack of k-cups for $0.50. They cancelled all orders, but as this was a small dollar item, and even though it was pilfered by RFD, they are sending out a pack of whatever flavor cups for free which is a pretty nice resolution.

I do hate the brick though :rofl:

[spikerS]

I am not really anti-brick, they were just unfortunate the be the one in the news about this, it could be anyone. I am more interested in discussing the laws and such surrounding this, than this particular instance of it.

[Isaiah]

Independent of legislation, can anyone really argue that the customers who feel entitled to the discount aren't just being opportunistic and greedy?

The retailer made a mistake, and people jump on it and then use the law as justification. This isn't a case of consumer protection, it's one of consumer abuse. If the law allows for you to keep all the money in a wallet that you see fall out of someone's pocket, does that make it the right thing to do? No, the right thing is to pick it up and return it.

Those Brick customers exploited a situation, and Bob nailed it by saying that it speaks to their character. Let's keep in mind that at no point were these discounts advertised. It's practically the same as a cashier giving you too much change at the register.

[Seth1968]

^ Again, no comment on the morality of it all, but the checkout discount was apparently called a "Boxing Week" discount (or something similar).

[A790]

Originally posted by spikers


Because, IF THEY HAVE PROCESSED PAYMENT, that items is no longer theirs, and belongs to the person who purchased it. If they do anything with it, even refunding it, they have :
Right, once the payment is processed it's a done deal.

A lot of times stores will pre-auth a payment and charge the amount once the item is shipped. I wouldn't be surprised if The Brick also does this.

[Env-Consultant]

I agree that The Brick shouldn't HAVE TO honour the prices; however, given the PR disaster they are experiencing, I think the payout cost < revenue lost due to bad PR. Amazes me that there can be a room full of suits sitting around going myes, myes, quite, indeed - how's about this? We offer them 10% off of their next pruchase. Then everyone in the room just burts out laughing and they do some coke.

[Seth1968]

It would have been better if The Brick just dishonored the discount, period. By saying they'll give you a 10% discount on your next purchase is just adding insult to injury.

I'm also willing to bet that the 10% only applies on regularly priced items that typically have a bazillion% mark-up.

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by Env-Consultant
Then everyone in the room just burts out laughing and they do some coke.
:thumbsup:

[Supa Dexta]

The brick already has a shit rep.. And they still do fine.. this will pass.

[Gman.45]

Good post Kloubeck, appreciate your insider insights into how it should work. Good for you and your company for putting your customers - even the dickheads - first. That will always pay more in the long term IMO than scrapping it out with a bunch of pissy people.


A lot of times stores will pre-auth a payment and charge the amount once the item is shipped. I wouldn't be surprised if The Brick also does this.

Funny you should mention this, as it was what I was about to post/ask about. Many online companies will ding your card prior to even physically verifying they even have the items in stock. If the website says "in stock" BOOM instant pre auth/charge on the card.

This happened to me recently with PM Hobby Craft in Calgary. I'm living out of province, and they had a good friday sale that I took advantage of. At 2am the day of the sale, right when it began, I grabbed an item that the factory at Horizon Hobby had just discontinued that week. Their website said "in stock", and the receipt they sent me said "in stock" as well. Their system had charged my card immediately, even though they didn't even have one of the items on the shelf. They don't even wait for shipping/receiving to verify their items existence, they just charge you. I've had this happen at other online places as well.

So, my question is if the Brick has an online system that works in a similar manner, and charges the customer plastic based on electronic stock and price records, what are their options now once the transaction has taken place effectively? I didn't read it stated clearly anywhere, but is the Brick offering the 10 percent off based on the money they have already in hand from the customer, in other words, ha ha, we're not "refunding" you, but giving you a credit plus another 10 percent off anything in the store? If that's the case, then I can see what the hub bub is all about, as like I said, I was offered a similar choice recently, and it really pissed me off. If the Brick offers to refund anyone who was charged in full, to me then it's not as big of a deal, although I do agree with some here that for image sake they should for PR reasons honor their mistake.

[Gman.45]

how's about this? We offer them 10% off of their next pruchase. Then everyone in the room just burts out laughing and they do some coke.

Laugh out loud - Can't believe I missed this the first run through the thread. Only too true.

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
The brick already has a shit rep.. And they still do fine.. this will pass.
This! :nut:

[luxor]

Originally posted by Gman.45
BOOM instant pre auth/charge on the card.


It seems like you know the difference between pre authorize and charged but why did you write it like that? They are different.

[Gman.45]

Sorry, was just referring to my situations when I've had mistakes happen during online shipping. If a pre auth isn't stopped in time, then the $ comes off the card. I should have typed pre auth-money instead.

I use a pre paid BMO card for all online stuff, and it only has a 1$k limit, so in my case, I transfer from chq to that card for each and every specific purpose, and can watch in online banking to see when the funds are taken - in the case of the good friday PM Hobby Craft adventure, the pre auth occurred right when I clicked the final button in their sales mech online, and the $ was taken off the next day, so it isn't like there is some huge time period between the two things, one obviously verifying that you have the funds available so far as your available credit or in my case cash on board the card account.

Interesting though that you say "you obviously know the difference", yet point out in the next sentence again "they are different". Are you bored today or something?

[woodywoodford]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Those Brick customers exploited a situation, and Bob nailed it by saying that it speaks to their character. Let's keep in mind that at no point were these discounts advertised. It's practically the same as a cashier giving you too much change at the register.

This is exactly it. Be it human or technical error, that's all it was - and anyone with even an ounce of integrity knows errors happen and they can't rightfully/morally/ethically capitalize on something like that.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Independent of legislation, can anyone really argue that the customers who feel entitled to the discount aren't just being opportunistic and greedy?

The retailer made a mistake, and people jump on it and then use the law as justification. This isn't a case of consumer protection, it's one of consumer abuse. If the law allows for you to keep all the money in a wallet that you see fall out of someone's pocket, does that make it the right thing to do? No, the right thing is to pick it up and return it.

Those Brick customers exploited a situation, and Bob nailed it by saying that it speaks to their character. Let's keep in mind that at no point were these discounts advertised. It's practically the same as a cashier giving you too much change at the register.

I enjoy your insight on various topics Isaiah, so with all due respect, I think the analogy you gave is ludicrous.

Your analogy references knowingly outright theft.

The Brick gave a "Surprise" Boxing Week discount. Any argument of advertised said price/discount is irrelevant, as many online retailers offer discounts and promotions just before the contract is fulfilled.

On a side note:

Those that claim, "If I wasn't getting that discount, I would have shopped elsewhere for a better deal".

Problem with that:

You already went for the purchase without even knowing about that checkout discount. Now that's a POS exploiting human error.