Tesco glitch puts iPads on sale at £49.99

Supermarket refuses to honour web offer

THOUSANDS of shoppers thought they had snapped up the latest iPad for a bargain £49.99 after Tesco suffered a price glitch on its website.
The supermarket giant advertised the Apple gadget, which is out on Friday, for pre-orders online.

But instead of pricing it at £659 for the 64GB Wi-Fi and 4G version, the gizmo was labelled £49.99.

The blunder left the website besieged.

However, Tesco bosses tonight refused to honour the deal, and small print on the site allows it to wriggle out of pricing glitches.

A spokeswoman said: "We always look to offer our customers unbeatable value but unfortunately this is an IT error, which is being corrected"

Retail experts said they expect a backlash from shoppers. When M&S refused to honour a pricing glitch in January, it was forced into a U-turn after thousands joined a web campaign.

Paul Nikkel, the founder of Hot UK Deals, said: "Every now and then the big retailers get it wrong, and this latest glitch seems to be a big mistake on Tesco's part.

"But shoppers will not be happy when they are told they cannot get the deal."

Tesco would not say how many customers bought the iPads.

And it was not clear whether the retailer will delete data from customers who entered their contact and bank details.

Word spread about the iPad deal on Twitter and Facebook as well as money-saving websites like Hot UK Deals as Brits shared the news.

One member of the site, Poker2009, fully embraced the deal, saying: "I have ordered 20."

In January, M&S offered 3D tellies worth £1,099 at a fifth of the price after an online blunder.

Initially, the retailer refused to honour the deal but eventually climbed down after thousands complained on Facebook and Twitter.

And last year T-Mobile offered free contracts by accident.

The latest iPad was unveiled last week and features a screen more detailed than a 40in HD TV. Huge queues are expected when the device goes on sale on Friday, starting at £359 for the basic 16GB Wi-Fi only version up to £659 for the top of the range 64GB Wi-Fi and 4G version.

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