Amazon.co.uk's bargain blunder: Lawyers and customers react...

Amazon.co.uk customers who flocked to the site to buy up wrongly-priced HP PocketPC handheld computers earlier today have reacted with mixed feelings to news the e-tailer will not be honouring the sale of the gadgets at the 'too good to be true' price.

Amazon.co.uk was selling the HP iPAQ H1910 Pocket PC for £7.32. It normally retails for around £300. Demand for the item reached such levels that the Amazon.co.uk website began labouring under the pressure mid-morning, before being taken down altogether around noon. By the time the site returned several hours later the HP iPaq had been removed.

Subsequently Amazon.co.uk issued a statement which said: "In keeping with our Conditions of use and our Pricing and Availability Policy, we will be cancelling orders made for the HP iPAQ Pocket PCs at the incorrect price this morning.

"As the Conditions of Use clearly state, there is no contract between Amazon.co.uk and the customer for an item until Amazon.co.uk accepts the customer order by email confirming that it has dispatched the item. Until that time, Amazon.co.uk is within its rights to not accept any customer order."

However, law firm Beale and Company believes there may be more to Amazon's legal predicament than the statement acknowledges, pointing out that Amazon's confirmation email for the item clearly refers to a "contract" in its wording.

A statement from Beale and Company said: "Confusion arises from Amazon's confirmation email. Is this meant to be acknowledgment of the order or confirmation of the contract? We would always advise e-tailers to make the first email an acknowledgment of the order, and state that the contract is not formed until the consumer receives a further confirmation email.

"Amazon's email provides information on how 'To cancel this contract...'. It could be argued that Amazon are stating that this is acceptance of the consumer's offer, and it would be surprising if a court were to decide that no contract existed at this point."

On several occasions the confirmation email refers to a contract between Amazon and the customers - though the wording of "cancel this contract" seems particularly relevant.

However, despite the potential for drawn out legal wranglings, some customers are already ruing 'what might have been'.

One disgruntled shopper, James Atherton, an accountant from London, said: "I admit that I was just being opportunist, though it would have been very useful."

Responding to reports that some customers have been told the sale will be honoured, while others will be given the chance to buy the iPaq at the correct price, Atherton added: "I'm not surprised to miss out but am confused that Amazon can get away with offering the same product to some people at one price and everyone else at another."

A report on the BBC's website claimed at least one lucky shopper had been told by Amazon.co.uk's customer services team that the price would be honoured. A spokeswoman for Amazon denied this is the case. "That is absolutely not true," she said. "I'm not sure where [the BBC] got that from."

While most consumers appear willing to admit that they didn't really expect Amazon to honour the 'too good to be true' offer, some have expressed concern at a respected e-tailer making such an embarrassing blunder, which resulted in several hours of downtime for its UK site.

Amazon.co.uk shopper Mark Whiting said: "Amazon should be embarrassed. I would have thought a successful internet retailer would understand the importance of customer satisfaction in a market place where reputation is the key to success."