Online purchase
February 8, 2012 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
A customer bought several wooden facades from us over the weekend. The customer automatically received an order confirmation and has already paid.
On the past Monday, it was noticed that there was an error in the item description on the internet. The items should have been sold at the listed price, not as described in the item description. We informed the customer that we would like an additional €10.50 for the pair, otherwise we would refund the purchase price to the customer.
The customer insists on receiving the delivery at the agreed price and claims that we, the supplier, have no way out of the contract that was formed. Is this valid legal practice?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry.
I would like to answer it as follows:
Unfortunately, the customer is correct insofar as, according to your description, a legally binding purchase agreement has been concluded for the purchase item and at the purchase price as indicated on the Internet.
If I understand you correctly, you have made a mistake here, so there is an error in the item description.
In this case, you could contest the purchase agreement under § 119 of the German Civil Code due to error.
The contestation would need to be made in writing and promptly to the buyer. The legal consequence would be that the contract would be completely void under § 142 of the German Civil Code.
There is a certain legal uncertainty on your side, as in case of a dispute, you would also need to prove that you made an error.
In other words: if the matter were to go to court, you would ultimately have to "convince" the judge that it was an error.
You have above-average chances, however, if you have witnesses or possibly even price calculations that show it was a mistake.
§ 119 of the German Civil Code – Contestability due to Error
(1) A person who was mistaken about the content of their declaration of intent or did not intend to make a declaration of that content at all may contest the declaration if it can be assumed that they would not have made it had they known the circumstances and considered them sensibly.
(2) Mistake about the content of the declaration also includes mistakes about such qualities of the person or the thing that are considered essential in commerce.
I hope to have provided you with an initial legal orientation and wish you much success and all the best!
I would like to point out the following to you:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the facts you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation, which cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information can lead to a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. You are welcome to contact me through the follow-up option.
I wish you a pleasant Wednesday afternoon!
Kind regards from the North Sea coast,
Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney
