Purchase being cancelled due to incorrect pricing

[BFeher]

Kentucky is my state of residence.

I booked a Kenny Wallace Driving Experience for my Dad's birthday coming up and they are saying it was cancelled due to incorrect pricing. I went on their website, found the closest track they attended, and booked a 50 lap package deal. It wasn't showing pricing at the beginning so I proceeded to checkout. After inserting all my information, choosing the insurance coverage plan, adding the video package, etc. it totaled out to be $96.74. After seeing the cost I entered my card info and checked out. I then received my confirmation email and contract that showed the remaining balance of the purchase to be $0. It also included the full policy statement explaining how refunds can't be given, etc. Later the same day they responded with another email explaining how my booking was cancelled due to incorrect pricing and that they would be more then glad to work with me, but only with the correct price. They then sent another receipt showing that with my initial payment of $96.74 my remaining balance should be $2,079.40. My Mom and I were very excited about the purchase up until then. Since I have the contract showing the confirmation, shouldn't they have to honor this? I know if I wanted to back out of the deal, they would hold me to the confirmation email. So, why shouldn't it make them liable as well? And I want to be civil about the whole thing, but when I called they wouldn't even offer a special discount or anything. They just stated that they will not be giving a $2000 package away for any less.

 

[Ohiogal]

Kentucky is my state of residence.

I booked a Kenny Wallace Driving Experience for my Dad's birthday coming up and they are saying it was cancelled due to incorrect pricing. I went on their website, found the closest track they attended, and booked a 50 lap package deal. It wasn't showing pricing at the beginning so I proceeded to checkout. After inserting all my information, choosing the insurance coverage plan, adding the video package, etc. it totaled out to be $96.74. After seeing the cost I entered my card info and checked out. I then received my confirmation email and contract that showed the remaining balance of the purchase to be $0. It also included the full policy statement explaining how refunds can't be given, etc. Later the same day they responded with another email explaining how my booking was cancelled due to incorrect pricing and that they would be more then glad to work with me, but only with the correct price. They then sent another receipt showing that with my initial payment of $96.74 my remaining balance should be $2,079.40. My Mom and I were very excited about the purchase up until then. Since I have the contract showing the confirmation, shouldn't they have to honor this? I know if I wanted to back out of the deal, they would hold me to the confirmation email. So, why shouldn't it make them liable as well? And I want to be civil about the whole thing, but when I called they wouldn't even offer a special discount or anything. They just stated that they will not be giving a $2000 package away for any less.

They will not be forced to honor this. They WILL have to refund your $96.74.

 

[BFeher]

They will not be forced to honor this. They WILL have to refund your $96.74.

Their Terms & Conditions on the site do not state that any confirmations can be changed nor any pricing. How are they not to be held liable?

 

[FlyingRon]

Their Terms & Conditions on the site do not state that any confirmations can be changed nor any pricing. How are they not to be held liable?

They don't have to state this. Basic contract law will allow a contract with a mistake of fact to be voided.

 

[BFeher]

They don't have to state this. Basic contract law will allow a contract with a mistake of fact to be voided.

I'm not understanding what you're saying. Mistake of fact? Where is the fact for a typical shopper online to understand? The price was very clear on the contract. It showed everything paid in full. They sent me confirmation on the transaction being accepted. Their Terms and Conditions do not stat whether an agreement is made at the time of transaction, or once it is reviewed. Most online sites have wording that states there is no such final agreement until good are delivered. This online site does not involve shipping a product of any sort. Therefore they do not need an automated acceptance email unless they want to risk something like this happening, right? Not trying to argue anything, I just want to understand why they can get away with this.

 

[FlyingRon]

I'm saying, the fact that the e-commerce site let you reserve the class for an incorrect price they can't be forced to honor. The price you thought you had is a mistake of fact. Even if you 100% believed that was the correct price (which I suspect isn't the case). It's an entirely permissible reason to rescind the contract. Again, there is no requirement for them to put weasel words in the contract or terms and conditions for this. The fact that some companies do so, is just reinforcement.

It wouldn't matter if you did this online or if you went to Kenny Wallace himself. If the price was a mistake, it's a mistake. The only way you could prevail is if you could show that they intentionally offered the lower price and now seek to change/rescind it. You've been told three times in this thread by two different people. There's just not anything more to say. Let it go.

You can try contacting someone higher up (maybe Kenny himself) and see if they'll offer you a discount on rescheduling the class, but they're not obliged to.

 

[quincy]

I'm not understanding what you're saying. Mistake of fact? Where is the fact for a typical shopper online to understand? The price was very clear on the contract. It showed everything paid in full. They sent me confirmation on the transaction being accepted. Their Terms and Conditions do not stat whether an agreement is made at the time of transaction, or once it is reviewed. Most online sites have wording that states there is no such final agreement until good are delivered. This online site does not involve shipping a product of any sort. Therefore they do not need an automated acceptance email unless they want to risk something like this happening, right? Not trying to argue anything, I just want to understand why they can get away with this.

Mistakes happen. When a mistake is made by one of the parties to a contract, the party is allowed to correct the mistake or void the contract if enforcing the contract with the error in place would be unconscionable (extremely unfair).

The difference between $96.74 and a package costing $2000.00 is substantial. It would be hard to hold the "Driving Experience" to the $96 price if the package is valued at $2000. The agreement appears to be voidable due to the mistake in price. You are entitled to a refund.