Screwfix Prices

[The Medway Handyman]

Keep an eye on Screwfix prices on the web site, in the catalogue and what you are charged at the trade counters.

On Thursday I bought a Site angle grinder for £31.31 at my local trade counter, not planned, spur of the moment purchase. John Rumm alerted me to the web site price of £19.91.

I checked the 'all my purchases' feature on the SF website where it confirmed the price I'd paid as £19.91. I have checked the paper invoice and they charged me £31.31.

I use that 'all my purchases' feature a lot to check what I've paid for stuff - seems it can't be trusted.

Screwfix have done the right thing in offering me a voucher for the £11.40 difference, but one wonders how often this happens without the customer spotting it.

SF reply as follows;

---------------------------------------------- "I am very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the price you were charged at our Trade Counter and I fully appreciate the inconvenience caused. In regards to the online lower price, I can confirm that Screwfix.com currently reflects up-to-date prices and products and therefore from time to time there will be variations between different catalogues and the website.

The Trade Counters will automatically default their pricing to the main catalogue 97 unless a different suffix is given, which is why you were charged the higher price, unfortunately, the Trade Counters cannot use the online catalogue pricing when processing orders. On this occasion only as a gesture of goodwill, I have arranged for you to receive a £11.40 voucher for the difference in price, which I trust, resolves the matter for you. In future, I would advise you to use the main catalogue when pricing orders to collect in our Trade Counters or alternatively check any leaflets that will be held in the Trade Counter itself".

--------------------------------------

I shall certainly be checking the invoices more carefully in future. The refund was offered 'on this occasion only as a gesture of goodwill'.

[mark]

I bought 40 metres of 22mm copper tube from them.The cat price was nearly double the website price.Pointed it out to the guy before purchasing and he used the website price. I think it`s a bad attitude on their part to only refund you as a gesture of goodwill and wonder how that would go with the OFT if it still exists.

[Owain]

Bit of a liability if you're relying on that to re-charge customers.

Owain

[The Medway Handyman]

[Owain]

Even worse if customers are checking that to see what you should be charging them ;-)

Owain

[Rod]

The All purchases page does say this:

"Prices are current catalogue prices. They may have changed since you last ordered the item"

But it makes the facility pretty silly except as a memory jogger of products. And a confuser of prices. Also, from what you have reported, the price shown for your angle grinder was the current *online* price, not the catalogue price as claimed.

[The Medway Handyman]

They can't access 'my' purchases thankfully, but I never specify where I've bought stuff and remove any packaging that could identify the source.

[RubberBiker]

Hmmm - this may explain why SF have never implemented a "pick the stuff online, and collect at your local trade counter" system.

If they did (and even more so if I could check what's in stock at my local trade counter) - I would use it often - but SF would be forced to offer online discounts at trade counter too.

[Dave Liquorice]

You amended the terms of sale before the transaction took place. They could equally have said that the higher price stated is the price stated= end of story. This would not have made you happy though and as a gesture= of goodwill agreed to sell at the web price.

Remember you cannot force a seller to sell, the advertised price is only= an invitation. You then make an offer (which may or may not be at the advertised price) which the seller can decline or accept. No contract is= formed until agreement has been reached.

There is nothing illegal going on. The orginal "invitation to treat" was= at =A331.31 and that ended up being the agreed "consideration" for the goods. The fact that the same goods were then found to be priced differently has no bearing on the agreed and completed previous sale. It= is purely a gesture of good will that ScrewFix have said they will provi= de vouchers for the difference.

[dmc]

Toolstation do this - you can build up a basket online while seeing stock levels at the local trade counter. Then, instead of checking out you print the basket out and the counter can use the code at the top to bring up the order on their system.

It's fantastic and in the last couple of months several hundred quids worth of orders have gone to my local toolstation over screwfix.

Another thing I've noticed - recently the screwfix prices are going up. To counter this, they appear to be regularly sending me 10% discount vouchers. Wish they would just stop buggering with the pricing. grrr.

Still, the 10 quid off of 20 quid toolstation order vouchers are handy :-)

Darren

[auctions]

The 'all my purchases' feature is there as a kind of mini catalogue for quick reordering, I guess mainly for people who repeatedly order the same things. It wouldn't be much use therefore for it to show the price you last paid, so it shows the current price. Also, I think it only lists each item once, so if you'd bought a particular item several times at different prices, it wouldn't be accurate anyway. The 'Order History' is the place to check the prices paid.

A

[Old Git]

On the subject of Screwfix and angle grinders, check this one out

that takes some handling. Only problem is that I can't find any

115" discs.

[The Medway Handyman]

Bet that takes some handling. Only problem is that I can't find any

Wow! A 9' 6" angle grinder! You could rule the world with one of those!

[AlanD]

I had a similar experience last week. I bought a Ryobi 4-piece kit [#97727] (as only £28 more than just the 2 batteries & charger I was going to buy) after seeing on the website for £95.42. While waiting for it and a load of other stuff to arrive at the collection counter I noticed they'd charged me the 'old' price of £127.22. I queried it, and they refunded the original purchase and re-charged at the lower price. Result.

[Jules]

Maybe the clue's in the company name? :-)