I went to a furniture dealer the son gave me a price for 6 chairs $180.00 flat?
Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at
6:32 am
I paid in full to pick up chairs in 2 days a little later the father calls me to tell me his son made a mistake on the price now it is actually double what should I do?
From a legal standpoint, the son of the dealer is an employee in his father’s business and as such made an offer to sell the chairs and you accepted and paid the bill in full. The contract is completed and the chairs belong to you. The low price is what the dealer has to accept for his employee’s mistake, unless it is such a gross mistake, like selling it for 10% of its value when it would have been obvious and unreasonable for you or any other non-professional in the field to believe the price was correct. You believed you got a good or fair deal (not a steal) and the furniture dealer should take that as a lesson to teach his employees better.
And now to the practical aspect of this matter. Possession is still 90% of the law and the dealer has still not turned over your furniture to you. Do you believe you still would have a good or acceptable deal if the price where $225 or $250? If so, you can make the dealer a counter offer in compromise for such amount. If not, threaten to take him to small claims court. At that stage he will probably simply refund your money and that generally ends the matter. In most jurisdiction small claims courts can only issue money judgments and only for the amount you paid, and cannot force the dealer to perform on his contract.
If you absolutely want your chairs for the $180 you will have to go to the next higher court, such as a municipal or superior court and sue for specific performance. The problem is the filing fees and court cost alone are probably substantially higher than $180, even if you don’t hire an attorney, but represent yourself. Then if you win, the court will probably not award you any money for the time you spent on the case and there is a minimal chance the court will rule in favor of the dealer. So you are the loser anyway.
If the dealer simply gives you the money back, take it and stew for a while.
Now you still can get revenge to a certain point. I would file a written complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). When they try to make a compromise offer similar to what you previously made, refuse that offer and state that you only accept the original deal. That’s a point against the dealer he probably does not want. If you agree to take the BBB compromise, the BBB will report to future inquirers only that there was a complaint, but it was satisfactorily resolved.
Now you can also can write a report to a consumer’s website, such as Yelp or whatever there is in your area. Factually describe what happened to you and how unhappy you are, and you can’t be sued for slander. TV and radio stations often also have a consumer advocate who can get you good results.
The question now is, how far do you want to take it? The ball is in your court.
sorry your son sold them at half price –
I have a bill of sale (YOU DO HAVE A SALES RECEIPT?)
for the chairs I paid for at the agreed price
guess I got a sale
if he presses the issue – report to the Better Business Bureau
how old is the son – a legal sales team member?
all the best
Hi,
go for a price somewhere in between $180 and $360….maybe something like $240… If not…get all your money back
S1lent
He should honor the price. If not don’t deal business with them because I would think something is shady with them. Ask for your money back and look elsewhere for your chairs.
Tell him you paid for the chairs you were told a price you paid have a receipt you will need it if he isn’t willing to let it go you have a couple options call the cops, ask for your money back and leave report them to the bbb. How old was the son that sold you the chairs doesnt really matter either way a deal is a deal.