Legal Question - buying on internet

[minicity]

At the begining of December I ordered a present for friend from a very well know internet supplier of DVDs (amongst other things). The predicted date of delivery was well before Christmas. This date was then constantly moved forward, past Christmas and into the new year. This morning I had an email saying that they cannot now supply the item and have cancelled the order. Going to their website I find that they are still advertising the item, at twice the price of when I had my order accepted.

Is this legal?

[angusfaldo]

I'm not sure of the legality of the price increase issue, but in terms of selling goods there has to be an offer and an acceptance for there to be a contract. In your case their advert is an invitation to treat and you have to make a valid offer in order to establish one side of the contract. They have to accept your offer to conclude that contract. It sounds like they did accept it as they confirmed your order and gave you an estimated delivery date. Therefore by not honouring your contract they have breached it and you are probably entitled to compensation for that. Getting it is another matter entirely though.

I'm guessing you're talking about Amazon because they've done this to me a few times as well.

[minicity]

Thanks - it is certainly dishonest, if not actually illegal. They have offered me £5. I have turned them down and threatened to cause a fuss, which I am good at.