I found a B&Q price glitch with £75 garden furniture reduced down to £4 – but they cancelled it
A SHARP-EYED shopper thought they had landed a huge bargain after they bought a £75 potting bench for their garden for just £4.
The price glitch appeared on the B&Q website and was shared on hotukdeals to the delight of many shoppers eager for a discount.
But one gutted shopper who bagged the cheap furniture and expected a saving of £71 has now been told her order is cancelled.
“Am right annoyed now,” she said on the Latest Deals, Extreme Couponing & Bargains Group on Facebook.
“Has anyone else who ordered the £4 potting bench from B&Q had their order cancelled? I finally get a glitch and it gets cancelled.
“For my first ever bungalow too. Only been here five months would have been perfect for this year.”
The disappointed gardener said she was contacted by B&Q to say the order was cancelled.
Posting the response, B&Q told her: “When you placed your order, unfortunately the price was wrong – it was listed as £4 instead of £75.
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“We’re currently unable to fulfil any orders for this item and, with apologies, we’re cancelling your order and will refund you the price paid.”
The wooden bench still appears online advertised as £4 but is currently unavailable for home delivery, click and collect or in store, so can no longer be purchased.
And they were not the only shopper to find that their order was cancelled.
Angry customers have posted “reviews” on the product page for the Forest Garden Potting bench about the cancellation – and frustration that they have to wait to get the money back.
One shopper said: “I appreciate that this is an error and we are all likely to have our purchases cancelled. However, they still have my money from last Saturday.”
Another said: “They took payment, has said processing since ordered. Gone on online chat and they’ve said there cancelling all orders!
“That’s fine but there holding onto my money as still no refund!”
A third said they were “not a happy bunny” after buying five of the benches: “It’s taken the money out but we’re is my purchase ????.”
A B&Q spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for any disappointment this pricing error has caused. Despite our best efforts, we do occasionally make genuine mistakes like this one.
“All customers who placed an order will receive a full refund back to the original method of payment.”
Do shops have to honour a price glitch?
Unfortunately shops don’t have to honour the low price of a product if it’s a glitch.
Prices that are advertised online in error that were a “genuine mistake” mean shoppers won’t be able to get the low prices if it’s spotted by the shop.
Retailers can cancel the order and refund you the money, usually within in seven days, though this can take longer depending on your card issuer.
Indeed, B&Q explained as much in its message to the shopper.
The DIY store said: “Whilst the pricing error was a genuine mistake, we appreciate that this may be disappointing.
“Despite our best efforts, a small number of the thousands of products we sell may occasionally be mispriced.
“If this does happen, we’re not obliged to supply the products at the incorrect price or at all.
“You can find more information about this here under B&Q Terms and Conditions of Sale.”
The T&Cs say it is not obliged to supply the product at the incorrect price.
While this may frustrating when you think you’ve bagged a bargain, it’s something to be aware of when buying a price glitch item – especially that you’ll likely face a wait for your money back, which could leave you out of pocket.
But if you’ve already been sent the item and paid the glitch price, you don’t have to send it back.
Shops don’t always spot glitches though and you might get away with it, so it could be worth a try.
For instance Asda shoppers spotted a price glitch that gave £37 worth of stamps for £25 – and some successfully go the lower price.
This might require keeping the glitch under wraps if you spot it yourself.
One shopper had warned not to share the B&Q price glitch when it was first spotted and before orders were cancelled.
They said: “Should have kept it to yourself. Posting it here pretty much guarantees that this doesn’t go through.”
Consumer expert Martyn James said: “If word gets around that a website has mispriced certain goods and loads of people rush to buy them, then you are aware that the firm has made an error and the business may not have to honour the deal as it’s a mistake that you are arguably aware of.”
One “glitch hunter” saves £1,000 a year tracking down pricing errors.
What about price “glitches” in store?
The same rules generally apply to errors in stores if the tag has the wrong price.
Shops might choose to honour the price on the label, and it’s worth asking them to just in case.
But the shop can just withdraw the item for sale and say it’s not available if the price is a mistake.
If the glitch goes through at the checkout and you buy the item at the lower price, you won’t have to pay the money back.
Citizen’s Advice says they’re only legally entitled to ask you for more money if you’d talked about the price (eg £100) and they ended up charging you much less instead (eg £10).
If the tables are turned and you think you’ve been charged more than it was advertised for, you can ask the shop to refund the difference.
You’ll need proof of the error, like a receipt and a picture of the price on the shelf, for instance.