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  • "Get your turgid brain into gear Mr Lever, and you as well Bolton News. Stop this bleating on about internet bargains due to pricing errors. Thay are not legally binding. They are pricing errors and in their T&Cs (which Mr Lever no doubt accepted) it will mention something about them, Also stuff you about all this charity nonsense. That is just BS. All you were concerned about was pulling a fast one.
    And who the heck says that M&S belongs to the public? Your News reporting is embarrasing BN (sorry for the overuse of acronyms). I can see a point in the next five years where this stale newspaper will no longer exist and nobody will miss it. It is just staffed with reporters who are just as thick and deviant as the people and causes they promote."
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Not your M&S: Marks and Spencer bosses refuse to honour 50p armchair error

9:45am Friday 10th January 2014 in News The Bolton News: Photograph of the Author Exclusive By Liam Thorp , Reporter

The Bolton News: The armchair which wrongly appeared online at a price of 50p The armchair which wrongly appeared online at a price of 50p

WHEN eagle-eyed bargain hunter Stuart Lever saw Marks and Spencer armchairs worth £700 on sale for for just 50p each online, he thought it was the deal of the century.

Mr Lever and his wife, Melanie, quickly placed an order for seven of the High Back Richmond recliner chairs — costing a grand total of £3.50, rather than £4,900.

But, as the former Conservative councillor for Astley Bridge was making plans to donate his new chairs to a worthy cause, Marks and Spencer confirmed that the price change had been the result of a “technical error” and it would not be delivering Mr Lever’s order — or any others made for the wrongly reduced price.

Mr Lever said: “I was very disappointed to hear that Marks and Spencer wouldn’t be going through with the order — as far as I’m concerned they should honour the deal without any question.

“They are a big company and they should take the mistake on the chin and pay out, they have already confirmed that they received our order.”

He added that although he will not be pursuing the matter, he hopes others will not take the news “sitting down”.

“If everyone kicked up a fuss, you never know they might end up changing their minds,” he said.

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Mr Lever, aged 45, had planned to find a worthy recipient to donate his arm chairs to. He said: “I had contacted the hospital about possibly giving them to the maternity unit, but obviously that won’t be happening now.”

A Marks and Spencer spokesman confirmed that a technical error meant that for a short period of time on Wednesday, the recliner chairs were incorrectly priced, an error that was corrected as soon as it was spotted.

He also said the chairs would not be sold at 50p and a full refund would be given.

A statement said: “We have contacted customers and apologised for any inconvenience caused.”

A Bolton Council trading standards spokesman said: “When someone makes an order on a website, they are offering a contract and it is within the seller’s rights to accept or reject that contract.

“In cases where there has been a clear mistake, such as the pricing of armchairs at 50p, the seller is able to reject or cancel the order as it was not a genuine contract.”

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