best bargain ever !!!
Jun 1st 2011, 12:32 am
#166
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: South of Calgary
Posts: 13,374
Re: best bargain ever !!!
Can a mistake void a contract? Depends, of course, on a lot of things, not the least of which is the relative bargaining power of the parties. The retailer has had numerous opportunities to spot and correct its mistake, by the checkout girl and her supervisor (and it now turns out, the security guard too.) Given the relative strength of WalMart and the robust pricing control systems it uses and the multiple opportunities it had to spot any error, it would be unreasonable to hold a customer liable for such an error once the customer has paid for the goods and left the store.
What happens in relation to a request for payment is, to a large extent, irrelevant. Forebearance by a creditor does not negate the need to satisfy the debt.
Bloody hell, I haven't looked a contract law like this for years!
Jun 1st 2011, 2:29 am
#167
Dive Bar Drunk
Joined: Nov 2006
Location: Toronto
Posts: 8,648
Re: best bargain ever !!!
Jun 1st 2011, 2:51 pm
#168
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 12,830
Re: best bargain ever !!!
So it now begs the question:
- Did she fess up and pay the difference?
- Donate the ill gotten gains to charity?
- Keep the dosh and hide in a corner somewhere?
Jun 1st 2011, 11:11 pm
#175
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2007
Location: Calgary
Posts: 2,092
Re: best bargain ever !!!
The test of whether something is dishonest is set out in Ghosh and is not as straightforward as most people believe.
A mistake can invalidate a contract. But, it doesn't appear that there was a mistake in relation to the terms of the contract. A price is an "invitation to treat" which becomes an offer by the purchaser when one presents the goods for purchase, the store accepts then the offer. The minute that happens, I believe, one has a valid contract. Had both parties been stopped at that time, I suspect that both would have said that the price for the goods was $100, as opposed to 50 cents.
What happens in relation to a request for payment is, to a large extent, irrelevant. Forebearance by a creditor does not negate the need to satisfy the debt.
Bloody hell, I haven't looked a contract law like this for years!
A mistake can invalidate a contract. But, it doesn't appear that there was a mistake in relation to the terms of the contract. A price is an "invitation to treat" which becomes an offer by the purchaser when one presents the goods for purchase, the store accepts then the offer. The minute that happens, I believe, one has a valid contract. Had both parties been stopped at that time, I suspect that both would have said that the price for the goods was $100, as opposed to 50 cents.
What happens in relation to a request for payment is, to a large extent, irrelevant. Forebearance by a creditor does not negate the need to satisfy the debt.
Bloody hell, I haven't looked a contract law like this for years!
Jun 2nd 2011, 12:42 am
#176
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: South of Calgary
Posts: 13,374
