Homebase shoppers baffled by price error as it wrongly reduced Christmas tree from £80 to £4
HOMEBASE shoppers have been ridiculing the retailer after a price error wrongly labelled a Christmas tree as being knocked down from £80 to £4.
The discount incorrectly said the 3ft festive tree had been reduced in price by a staggering £76 – a saving of 95 per cent.
But the tree actually only cost £8 originally, meaning the reduction is a much smaller £4.
This still marks a saving of 50 per cent for anyone who needs to decorate their home for Christmas.
The pricing blunder didn’t go unnoticed by customers, who posted about the error on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group.
Shopper Sarah Hilsdon, who spotted the mistake in the Basildon, Essex, store, said: “Well… don’t think this is right?”
Her suspicions proved to be true, as fellow customers replied to her comments confirming the actual price of £8.
One person said: “It’s only 3 feet- the ‘was price’ should be £8.”
While another shopper commented: “Someone failed at math.”
As another person said: “I think it was meant to say £8.00 down to £4.00 – but how funny is the sign!”
What are your rights if something is advertised at the wrong price?
YOUR rights on buying something for the wrong price depends on whether you bought it in a shop or online. Here are your rights according to Citizen's Advice:
Buying in a shop:
- If you haven’t bought it yet – The store don’t have to sell it to you for the mistaken price but you could ask them to honour it. The same rules apply if you see an item advertised at a lower price than the one on the price tag.
- If you’ve already bought it – If a shop charges you less than the advertised price then you do’nt have to give it back. If you realised that you were charged more than the advertised price, return the item and ask them to refund the difference. Keep any evidence of the mistake like the receipt and a photo of the advertised price.
Shopping online:
- If you’ve paid for it and/or it’s been sent to you – The company can’t usually cancel your order, even if they realise they’ve sold you something at the wrong price. They’ll only be able to cancel it if it was a genuine and honest mistake on their part that you should’ve noticed.
- If you haven’t paid for it – If the retailer realises its mistake then they are entitled to cancel it.
We’ve asked Homebase if this error was only in the one store or if it was nationwide.
The DIY store is still selling the trees online and in shops, meaning there’s time for shoppers to get their hands on one for Christmas.
But if you’re buying online, the delivery charge of £5 is more expensive than the tree itself.
Homebase has 170 shops in the UK and you can find your nearest one by clicking here.
This is the cheapest we could find a 3ft Christmas tree being sold for, with the next best price costing £5 from Wilko.
MORE ON MONEY
This isn’t the only store error we’ve seen – Currys PC World accidentally sold a £289 Apple iPad for £4 after a pre-Black Friday sale glitch.
While Next shoppers were left furious after a glitch meant “sale items” were charged at full price.
And another price glitch reduced the price of a £600,000 helicopter down to just £550.