Additional money owed after purchase?

[camiboxer]

Went shopping for a bed yesterday, found what I wanted, ordered it and paid $1496. Delivery in 8-10 weeks (4-6 weeks is more common per the sales person).
About 3 hours later the guy calls me and tells me that he made an error in pricing and neglected to include the cost of two additional pieces of the bed (frame and foot board). He had correctly charged me for the pedestal and headboard only.
I have not shopped for a bed in well over 20 years and knew going in that *most* head boards are extra but these other two items for an additional charge threw me a little.
He was extremely apologetic for his mistake and said he would fully understand if I wanted to cancel my order with a full refund.
I told him that I needed to sleep on it however I am not any closer to making a decision today as I was when I heard about the additional charges.
Had the item been in stock and I took the bed home with me yesterday there is NO WAY I would have agreed after the fact to return to the store and pay nearly $400 more.
Had the "correct" price been presented to me yesterday of $1882 I would not have made the purchase.
I feel as if I have been a bit bamboozled.
I can understand that mistakes happen and I have myself on occasion neglected to charge my own customers a holiday fee (for example) and I have never once even thought to bill them after the fact. My mistake, my issue. In my business however I am not out any actual goods when I forget a certain charge.
I am in desperate need of a bed since my current Tempurpedic has been on the ground for nearly a month now. I have looked both high and low for exactly what we wanted and found it yesterday at a price I was willing to pay.
I will ask for them to honor the price they sold the bed to me for but I don't think it will fly.
I can ask for them to split the difference with me.
I can walk away and start my search again however I have little desire to do so.

**While writing this post I received a call from the salesperson. I asked if I could speak to a supervisor concerning the situation. One was not available (not quite open yet) but he would explain to them what was going on and get back with me.

[BL]

"Had the "correct" price been presented to me yesterday of $1882 I would not have made the purchase.

I am in desperate need of a bed since my current Tempurpedic has been on the ground for nearly a month now. I have looked both high and low for exactly what we wanted and found it yesterday at a price I was willing to pay."

Other than trying to negotiate, which of the two comments above is most important? You have done the research.

[Firam]

I don't see this as that big of problem.

Do you want the bed for $1882? If yes, pay the extra. If no, ask for a refund.

[bottlecap]

They made a mistake. You can fight them to make them pay for it or you can pay the extra money to get the bed you want.

It doesn't sound like they intentionally duped you and currently you are out nothing if you cancel the purchase. I understand wanting to get something for a lower price and being disappointed that they made a mistake, but I'm not sure I would insist that it result in a windfall for me.

In the end it's up to you.

JT

[Grandpaboys]

If it where me, I would cancel the order.

[cheese_breath]

I think you should give the salesman the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to an honest mistake since he offered you a full refund…. Since you want this bed so much try to negotiate a compromise you are willing to accept. Since you wouldn’t have paid $400 more in the first place, take your refund and walk away if the store won’t budge on the price.

[Epsilon Delta]

They made a mistake. ...
It doesn't sound like they intentionally duped you and currently you are out nothing if you cancel the purchase.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but a bait-and-switch is more effective when it appears accidental; I am unable to distinguish an honest mistake from an intentional bait-and-switch without a lot of research. So I refuse to bite. I figure if everybody did this it would send the right signals to merchants and cleanup the game. The scammers would lose all their business and go away, the careless merchants would suffer in proportion to their errors and so take reasonable efforts to limit mistakes.

[Khanmots]

I'll point out a few things.

1) You say "Had the "correct" price been presented to me yesterday of $1882 I would not have made the purchase."
2) Mattresses and furniture both seem to have huge markups. I discovered this when I accidentally negotiated around 30% off the "on-sale" price of a mattress.

What I'd do is find something that a competitor sells for around $1300-1400 that is somewhat comparable. You're not looking for something that you necessarily like, just something with a similar firmness of mattress and same general ballpark of quality. Then call the guy back and tell him that you know, you liked this competitors product for $X almost as much and while you were willing to spend the little bit more for his product ($100ish), anything more, especially this new price that's $400-500 more, is right out and that it sounds like you'll need to cancel. You'll need to have an actual product picked out that you can give him the model and exact price of as he may be able to do a price match.

If they don't go for it then I'd cancel and start searching again. I can think of a lot to do with $400!

[Khanmots]

They made a mistake. ...
It doesn't sound like they intentionally duped you and currently you are out nothing if you cancel the purchase.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but a bait-and-switch is more effective when it appears accidental; I am unable to distinguish an honest mistake from an intentional bait-and-switch without a lot of research. So I refuse to bite. I figure if everybody did this it would send the right signals to merchants and cleanup the game. The scammers would lose all their business and go away, the careless merchants would suffer in proportion to their errors and so take reasonable efforts to limit mistakes.

And this. Good scams don't look like scams. In this case it could be accidental or it could be something they pull on everyone... get someone to commit, and then they have an emotional attachment to their decision. Notice the op would not have purchased at the "correct" price yesterday but is considering it today.

[camiboxer]

Just received word from the salesperson and they have offered to cover 1/2 the cost and the additional amount due from me would be $193.
I am still on the fence.

[Spirit Rider]

Went shopping for a bed yesterday, found what I wanted, ordered it and paid $1496. Delivery in 8-10 weeks (4-6 weeks is more common per the sales person).
About 3 hours later the guy calls me and tells me that he made an error in pricing and neglected to include the cost of two additional pieces of the bed (frame and foot board). He had correctly charged me for the pedestal and headboard only.
...
I will ask for them to honor the price they sold the bed to me for but I don't think it will fly.
I can ask for them to split the difference with me.
I can walk away and start my search again however I have little desire to do so.

Call me a cynic too, but this sounds just two closely to standard corrupt sales practices. I had this tried on me more than once after buying a car and I consider car salesmen on average more ethical than furniture/mattress salesmen (and that is not saying much).

Additionally, frames are routinely included on beds costing less than half this amount. I call foul on this sleezy tatic. I don't believe for a second this is an honest mistake. This is an after the effect extortion.

I would insist they honor the price.

[ohiost90]

Curious, does the bill of sale itemize the pedestal and headboard with out the frame and foot board?

[camiboxer]

UPDATE

Was prepared to walk away from the purchase altogether but received a call from the store supervisor before I was able to make the request for a refund.
They will be absorbing the entire additional cost and I will receive the bed at original purchase price.

[camiboxer]

Curious, does the bill of sale itemize the pedestal and headboard with out the frame and foot board?

Yes.

[Fallible]

I would contact the proper state agency (in some states it's the attorney general's consumer division office) to find out what your rights are. Then I'd talk with the supervisor directly. And let us know what you find out if you go this route. IMO, I think it's probable you owe them nothing.

[Saving$]

I believe this was your typical bait and switch. Notice how they were more invested in this than you - they kept calling you.

When you did not commit to paying the extra, they tried to get at least half. When you remained non-committal, they eventually gave up, fearing that if you called them, it would be to cancel the entire order.

[LazyNihilist]

I believe this was your typical bait and switch. Notice how they were more invested in this than you - they kept calling you.

When you did not commit to paying the extra, they tried to get at least half. When you remained non-committal, they eventually gave up, fearing that if you called them, it would be to cancel the entire order.

I think so too. If it was not bait and switch, I wonder how they agreed to let $400 go so easily.

[Mudpuppy]

Curious, does the bill of sale itemize the pedestal and headboard with out the frame and foot board?

Yes.

IMHO, this means you were appropriately charged for the items in the first place and this was likely a bait and switch. I would not consider the matter settled until all of the furniture is delivered, complete and in good shape. They can try to pull a lot of other things over the next 8-10 weeks.

[ohiost90]

Curious, does the bill of sale itemize the pedestal and headboard with out the frame and foot board?

Yes.

Then looks like both of you made a mistake. The salesman for not giving you the correct price for all the items that you thought you were getting and for you signing the bill of sale w/0 with all the items that you thought you were getting.

[Dave C.]

Bait and switch. No doubt. They asked for $400, no go from you (darn). They quickly asked for half, no go again from you, (double darn!). They knew the "cancel order" was the next call, so they cut bait, kept the sale on the overpriced mattress and box spring........and started all over again on that guy looking at the overpriced queen mattress in the corner of the showroom right now.

It's a very old game. If we consumers keep on our toes, and go into major purchases with our eyes wide open and pay close attention......we'll catch about half the scams. A good con is hard to beat.

[johnny72]

Very obviously bait and switch.

[kaere]

It's a scam. More than 20 years ago we purchased a platform bed and headboard.The salesperson was new and had another salesperson assist her in writing up our order. Several days later, they called to say they made a mistake and we owed more. I thought it odd since the write-up was supervised. My husband got on the phone and said they needed to honor the sale as is. We had a written delivery day and time of 4-6 pm. On the delivery day, I got home at 3:15 to see the delivery truck getting ready to drive away. I should him my delivery time paper, and he showed me his paper saying deliver between 3-5 pm. He came alone, and the bed pieces were long, heavy boards that had to be carried upstairs. I helped him carry everything in. There is no way he could have brought them in on his own. I don't think he was expecting to actually make the delivery.

[NAVigator]

Good grief, you bought a mattress and box springs. That is a common thing to buy. It was written on the sales slip this way.

Then the OP talks about them charging extra for additional items that were not included on the sales slip.

You bought it because it was a good deal - but that was because you didn't know what you were buying. I think the store is doing far more than I would expect. I think you are expecting far more than what is reasonable.

Jerry

[Dave C.]

[quote="NAVigator"]Good grief, you bought a mattress and box springs. That is a common thing to buy. It was written on the sales slip this way.

Then the OP talks about them charging extra for additional items that were not included on the sales slip.

You bought it because it was a good deal - but that was because you didn't know what you were buying. I think the store is doing far more than I would expect. I think you are expecting far more than what is reasonable.

Jerry[/quote)


[url]Jerry makes a good point....the store is doing far more than I would expect them to do.....to me, not for me.
[/url]

[Ping Pong]

I would have cancelled the whole order to disincentivise them from doing this to other people. The fact that you continued with your purchase after they backed down means they didn't lose anything from trying to scam $400 out of you. Heads they win, tails they win.

Some people seem to be blaming the OP because everything wasn't itemized on the invoice. But this is precisely how bait-and-switch schemes work. They conveniently leave things out so they can try to get you later. Anyone who has had a custom home built can tell you the stories.

Besides, I'm sure the OP was negotiating for all 4 pieces with the salesman. It's not like OP said to the salesman "I want to buy 2 pieces" and quietly assumed it came with all 4. If the salesman did make an honest error in punching things into the computer to get the quote and invoice, then the problem would not have shown up until the furniture was delivered and there were pieces missing. The fact that the salesman called you the next day is your clue that he knew all along.

[camiboxer]

I don't feel as if I did anything wrong contrary to some posters.
My invoice states the following, handwritten by the salesman:
QTY -1
Venders name and item #
Description: California King Pedestal Bed w/2 drawers
Hardware on pedestal Satin nickel bow handle(incl.)
Item price $728
QTY - 1
Venders name and item number #
Description: California King Headboard w/satin nickel knobs (incl.)
Item price $667
Finish X's 2 = Espresso stain on Maple
Free delivery and set-up with $1,000 purchase (achieved)
Delivery 8-10 weeks.
Subtotal $1395
Tax $101.14
Grand Total - $1496.14
Received - MC
Balance -$0.00

Not once during my nearly 2 hour experience was it ever mentioned that the actual bed consisted of 3 parts. The pedestal (which I purchased) and two additional items (a portion of the frame and a foot board). I knew I wanted a headboard and knew it was an additional cost. I did not purchase a mattress or a box spring.

I never asked for them to reduce the additional charge by any amount of money. Both offers by the store for the additional costs (1/2 and 100%) were offered TO ME. I agreed to accept their 2nd offer.

Wouldn't it be odd if you headed to a store and purchased a fridge. You knew going in you wanted an ice maker and that it would cost additional money. You make the purchase for the unit AND the ice maker...you then get a call later requesting that you pay extra for the handle? I'd say *most* people would find this odd.

[Mudpuppy]

I think it's not unreasonable to think that if you paid over $700 for the pedestal bed, that it came with all the parts of the frame. After all, it's a bed, not an art piece, so it needs all parts of the frame for its primary purpose of holding a mattress. I don't see how any up-and-up salesman would complete a sale without making sure you had all the necessary parts for the furniture to function. But you can always do a web search for the vendor name and item number to see if they intentionally are trying to mislead you.

[KyleAAA]

Sounds like an old-school foot-in-the-door sales tactic. I'd neither cancel the order not pay the extra $400. The transaction was made. Their mistake, their loss.