Amazon Marketplace - Seller cancelled transaction with no explanation

[moores2525]

Dear All,

 

I wanted to ask for your help regarding about an order I placed through Amazon today.

 

I had a look on Amazon and found a New Canon 550D SLR camera at a good price, in stock and sold by seller 'Buyacamera'. I ordered it and believed the seller to be linked to the 'Buy a Camera' retail website which gave me more confidence that there would be no issues.

 

Amazon emailed order confirmation and everything looked fine. Hours later, I receive an email from Amazon, saying the transaction has been cancelled by the seller, with no explanation, and that payment would not be taken and that I should order from someone else.

Looking at Amazon, the order has disappeared completely, with no record of the transaction and looking for the camera, it is no longer advertised.

 

How can sellers cancel transactions like this with no explanation or come back? As far as I am concerned, the seller has to fulfil the transaction once it has been placed - it seems Amazon will probably state otherwise. Dodgy ground, and worthy of a negative feedback if nothing else.

 

I believe legally the contract is only complete once payment has been taken - can anyone shed any light on this?

 

thanks,

Moores2525

[perplexity]

Amazon emailed order confirmation and everything looked fine. Hours later, I receive an email from Amazon, saying the transaction has been cancelled by the seller, with no explanation, and that payment would not be taken and that I should order from someone else.

Looking at Amazon, the order has disappeared completely, with no record of the transaction and looking for the camera, it is no longer advertised.

How can sellers cancel transactions like this with no explanation or come back? As far as I am concerned, the seller has to fulfil the transaction once it has been placed - it seems Amazon will probably state otherwise. Dodgy ground, and worthy of a negative feedback if nothing else.

 

The short answer is that the seller cancels in the same way that the buyer cancels, so long as the terms of the contract provide for this, which they may.

 

This from The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 prescribes the crucial condition of reciprocality:

 

(f) authorising the seller or supplier to dissolve the contract on a discretionary basis where the same facility is not granted to the consumer, or permitting the seller or supplier to retain the sums paid for services not yet supplied by him where it is the seller or supplier himself who dissolves the contract;