Harrods’£950 handbag for £10 offer too good to be true
IT LOOKED like an offer too good to be true and unfortunately for Harrods’ customers it was.
The upmarket retailer had put designer handbags that normally sell for £950 online for less than £10, only to outrage shoppers by refusing to honour their purchases.
On Thursday night, eagle-eyed customers found that the store’s website was selling Aspinal of London items at a tiny fraction of their original price.
The brand’s Marylebone tote bag, which usually costs £950, was on sale for just £8.08, while a tote bag which is usually £250 was selling for £2.03.
However, the retailer has told customers that their bags will not be shipped to them.
Andrew Leakey, a solicitor, told The Daily Telegraph that when it comes to pricing errors, consumers’ rights are more complicated with regards to online sales than they would be if the mistake was made in store. On the Harrods website, the terms and conditions note that if “there has been a pricing or product description error on the website” orders may not be accepted.
Mr Leakey said: “If the price was so obvious to look like a mistake, and the customer realised it was a mistake, then the court may decide it was obviously a mistake.”
One customer told The Telegraph she was “fuming” after she bought two Aspinal bags online, one for under £4 and another for £2.50, only to be told by Harrods that she would not receive the bags.
She said: “The order went through – money was taken from my bank account. Half an hour later I received two emails saying the order was cancelled.”
A Harrods spokesman said: “We took immediate action to rectify this pricing error and the issue was resolved quickly.
“Harrods has personally contacted any affected customers to inform them of the error and that orders would not be dispatched. We apologise for any inconvenience caused”.