A German electronics giant has been accidentally selling off top of the range Apple iMac computers for 2.19 EUR instead of 2,190.
The bungle left several customers purchasing the machines at a fraction of the real value before the mistake was noticed at the MediaMarkt store in the North Brabant region in the southern Netherlands.
But instead of writing off the loss as their mistake, which clearly came down to the decimal point being put in the wrong place, they are now demanding customers cough up the difference, including one lucky customer who purchased three of the computers for just over 6 EUR instead of just over 6,000 EUR.
Although some have apparently ‘come to an arrangement’ with the firm, legal experts quoted in Dutch media said in court they would have difficulty demanding the extra money legally.
Legal consultancy Aliter Melius, that handled a similar case involving people who bought cheap beds, said that in the case of the computers, the money had been paid and the goods delivered, which meant it was difficult for the firm to come back afterwards and demand more.
A spokesman for the law firm said an important difference between the case involving the beds and the computers is that “the computers were actually delivered”.
They added: “We do not yet know exactly how many computers are involved. But about ten people have already reported to us.”
The store has said it involved a number of people “that could be counted on two hands”.
The company says the people who received the computers should repay the difference, or return the computer. In some cases, they have also sent people round to try and collect the devices.
A spokesman said: “As soon as we found out that the price was not right, we contacted the buyers. We were able to find a solution with almost everyone because the customers also understood that this was too good to be true.”
MediaMarkt have over 1,000 stores in Europe and run on a franchise model, with every store 10-percent owned by the store manager.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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