SofaMart clowns me, what to do?

[kskillz]

"but now all he has is the same amount of money that he had going in."

Correction, what I have now is my money back, plus my old couch given to charity, 8 hours of wasted time with more to come, an insulting offer of $200 off a full price item than any normal customer would get if they negotiated for it, and one very pissed off wife. Ya that was worth it. I have no reason at all to be upset right?

[Dudd]

This is basic contract law. They agreed to sell you a sofa, they then failed to provide you with the sofa, breaching the contract. Think about ebay, wouldn't you get angry if you purchased something and then the seller backed out because he got a better deal? Same principal, they made a deal, they have to honor that deal. This isn't anything like someone miss typing a decimal place and selling an ipod for 20 bucks, this was a deal made in good faith and should be honored.

[ QUOTE ]
so you never return anything back to the store, becuase it doesnt fit, or isnt the right color?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't believe stores are under any obligation to accept a return, they just do because it's good customer service. Try and return a car (non-lemon law), see how far you get.

[mrkilla]

no one says you shouldn't be annoyed and pissed but you have no case for anything extra.

[JackInDaCrak]

Dudd, word.

[DonkeyKongSr]

Does this apply here...

"Contract Defenses: Mistake

A contract can be canceled on the grounds of mutual mistake of fact. In order to cancel a contract for mistake, both parties must have made a mistake as to a basic assumption on which the contract was based, and the mistake must have a material effect upon the agreed exchange. The mistake must relate to facts existing at the time the contract is made. In addition, the party seeking to avoid the contract must not have contractually assumed the risk of mistake. Parties sometimes attempt to claim mistake as a defense to a contract when they have failed to read the contract and later become aware of terms they dislike. Failure to read the contract is not a defense. A person who signs a contract is presumed to know what it says, and is bound to the terms she would have known about, had she read the contract."

link

[DonkeyKongSr]

More "mutual mistake" law

And more

Seems both parties (salesperson and OP) formed the contract on the assumption that the sofa wasn't sold, a "mutual mistake of fact". Since it is technically a one-of-a-kind product (last floor model from previous season), there is no equal item to replace it with, the contract can be voided by the store.

[pepper123]

[ QUOTE ]
This is basic contract law. They agreed to sell you a sofa, they then failed to provide you with the sofa, breaching the contract. Think about ebay, wouldn't you get angry if you purchased something and then the seller backed out because he got a better deal? Same principal, they made a deal, they have to honor that deal. This isn't anything like someone miss typing a decimal place and selling an ipod for 20 bucks, this was a deal made in good faith and should be honored.

[ QUOTE ]
so you never return anything back to the store, becuase it doesnt fit, or isnt the right color?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't believe stores are under any obligation to accept a return, they just do because it's good customer service. Try and return a car (non-lemon law), see how far you get.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is my question:

Guy buys couch. Guy signs paper that says "we agree to deliver this couch. if something happens and we are unable to deliver this couch you agree that we may provide you a full refund or offer you a couch of equal or greater value"

Couch company is in the clear? (serious question) This seems different than an unenforcable waiver of liability (like "if we accidentally cut off your head and burn your house down while delivering the couch you agree not to sue")

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]
More "mutual mistake" law

And more

Seems both parties (salesperson and OP) formed the contract on the assumption that the sofa wasn't sold, a "mutual mistake of fact". Since it is technically a one-of-a-kind product (last floor model from previous season), there is no equal item to replace it with, the contract can be voided by the store.

[/ QUOTE ]

You've got your facts wrong. The sofa was not sold when the original poster got there. The assumptions made were completely valid. The company sold the couch a second time AFTER the original poster had bought it. OP was not the second person to buy the sofa, he was the first.

SpaceAce

[otnemem]

[ QUOTE ]
Correction, what I have now is my money back, plus my old couch given to charity, 8 hours of wasted time with more to come, an insulting offer of $200 off a full price item than any normal customer would get if they negotiated for it, and one very pissed off wife. Ya that was worth it. I have no reason at all to be upset right?

[/ QUOTE ]
Easy solution - haggle with them for the $200 discount any normal customer could get, then hit them with $200 certificate. An $1100 couch becomes $700.

[kskillz]

[ QUOTE ]
More "mutual mistake" law

And more

Seems both parties (salesperson and OP) formed the contract on the assumption that the sofa wasn't sold, a "mutual mistake of fact". Since it is technically a one-of-a-kind product (last floor model from previous season), there is no equal item to replace it with, the contract can be voided by the store.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just to be clear, the couch was for sale when we bought it. It had not been claimed by anyone else. What happened was that in between the time we bought it and when it was supposed to be delivered to us, the SOLD tags were either removed (or never placed to begin with, the manager I talked to wasn't clear), and the couch was re-sold and delivered to someone else, all while it had been previously sold and promised to us.

I can accept that I may not have a legal right to get a replacement same year model. However, it seems like a reasonable request and the right thing to do. It's certainly not something I consider to be "extra". I can't believe that SofaMart is willing to not only lose a customer for life, but also is willing to have my wife and I spread this story to everyone we know and encourage others not to shop there. If SofaMart made their mistake right by giving us the couch we want for the price we paid, we'd continue to shop there, we have lots of stuff we need to furnish our new apartment. And we'd even tell our friends that SofaMart does their customers right when they make a mistake. Not gonna happen currently.