What to do if I ordered items over the phone but what I received were excess quantities above what I ordered and prices above what we discussed?

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What to do if I ordered items over the phone but what I received were excess quantities above what I ordered and prices above what we discussed?

Since this was all verbal communication, I have no documentation. What are my rights as far as returning the items and not paying the bill? The shipment was signed for and the items unpacked from the boxes they shipped in. Since receiving the bill, my research has shown that this company pulls this scam regularly.

Asked on September 26, 2012 under General Practice, Missouri

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Legally, you are only obligated to pay for the quantities you ordered; you could have the company pick up the excess at their cost. However, there are two potential problems in your case:

1) If there is no documentation as to what you ordered, you may not be able to prove your order size.

2) If it should have been possible to determine from the number of boxes, packing labels on the outside of the boxes, size of boxes, etc. that too much was sent to you, then signing for their delivery could be taken as acceptance of the delivery of the excess, which might preclude returning the excess. This would not be an issue, however, if there was no way to know of the excess until you opened the boxes.

Similarly, you can only be charged the amount you agreed to  pay, but again, may have difficulties proving this in the absence of documentation.

If you paid by credit card, you can try dispute the charge with your credit card company. If that doesn't work, however, you may not have any effective recourse other than a lawsuit, which not only might cost more than you are trying to save, but is not a given that you'd win in the absence of documentation.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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