If something is advertised at the wrong price

Summary

Your legal rights in a shop will depend on whether you’ve paid for the item yet or not. If you take an item to the till and are told the price on the tag or label is a mistake, you don’t have a right to buy the item at the lower price. You could still try asking the seller to honour the price. It’s the same if you see an item advertised anywhere for a lower price than the one on the price tag. If the shop sold you an item at a lower cost than they meant to, you don’t have to give it back - they’re only legally entitled to ask you for more money if you’d talked about the price (eg £100) and they ended up charging you much less instead (eg £10). If you realise you’ve paid more for an item than it was advertised for at the time, you can return it in its original condition and ask for a refund. They must refund you. If you want to keep the item, ask the shop to refund you the difference between what you paid and what was advertised. Keep any evidence of the mistake, if you can - for example, you could take a photo of the advert in the shop window. Your legal rights depend on something fairly tricky in the law: whether or not you have a ‘contract’. Depending on the company’s terms and.

Key information

• •once you’ve paid for the item
• •once they’ve sent it to you
• •Your legal rights in a shop will depend on whether you’ve paid for the item yet or not.
• •If you take an item to the till and are told the price on the tag or label is a mistake, you don’t have a right to buy the item at the lower price. You could still try asking the seller to honour the price.
• •It’s the same if you see an item advertised anywhere for a lower price than the one on the price tag.
• •If the shop sold you an item at a lower cost than they meant to, you don’t have to give it back - they’re only legally entitled to ask you for more money if you’d talked about the price (eg £100) and they ended up charging you much less instead (eg £10).
• •If you realise you’ve paid more for an item than it was advertised for at the time, you can return it in its original condition and ask for a refund. They must refund you.
• •If you want to keep the item, ask the shop to refund you the difference between what you paid and what was advertised.
• •Keep any evidence of the mistake, if you can - for example, you could take a photo of the advert in the shop window.
• •Your legal rights depend on something fairly tricky in the law: whether or not you have a ‘contract’.
• •Depending on the company’s terms and conditions, you’ll have legal rights (and a contract) either:
• •You’ll need to find the company’s terms and conditions to find out where you stand. Contact the Citizens Advice consumer service if you need help. It may be too tricky to work out yourself.

Practical guidance

• •Source: [If something is advertised at the wrong price](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/if-something-is-advertised-at-the-wrong-price/)

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