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Proposed class action lawsuit filed over Lenovo Canada price error

Over the weekend the hashtag #LenovoSucks and #Lenovogate began trending in Canada as angry customers took to social media to try to figure out what happened to their orders. PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images

TORONTO – A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Lenovo Canada following an online price error that left thousands of customers with cancelled orders.

The proposed lawsuit calls on Lenovo Canada to award damages equal to the difference between the wrongful sale price and the actual price, as well as punitive damages.

READ MORE: Lenovo customers continue to fight for discount after price error debacle

In May, Lenovo Canada abruptly cancelled customer orders over a pricing error during an online “Door Buster” sale in which customers were able to place orders for computers at up to 80 per cent off.

“Between May 22 and May 23, 2014, a pricing error occurred on the Lenovo Canada website for select Lenovo laptops. The error mistakenly allowed a ‘door buster’ e-coupon to be combined with an instant savings discount price.  As a result, prices and the automatically generated calculation of discount percentages and savings appeared in error,” a Lenovo spokesperson said.

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Lenovo offered affected customers $100 off their next purchase as a “gesture of goodwill,” but the offer has been widely rejected by consumers who want the company to honour the original discount.

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READ MORE: Lenovo responds after cancelling customer orders due to pricing error

Lenovo Canada declined to comment on the proposed lawsuit, which was started by Quebec resident Sébastien Crête on behalf of all affected customers.

Crête, who purchased a laptop during the price error, told Global News Monday he started the lawsuit to stand up for affected customers.

“I don’t even care about the laptop honestly. I care about my rights, I care about all other Canadian consumers,” Crête said via email.

The proposed lawsuit must be approved by a federal court before proceeding.

READ MORE: Twitter users unleash over #Lenovogate

Many customers have also complained to Canada’s Competition Bureau.

Section 74.05 of the Competition Act prohibits the sale of a product at a price higher than its advertised price – however, “the provision does not apply if the advertised price was a mistake and the error was immediately corrected.”

A petition calling on Lenovo to honour the sale price of the laptop has garnered over 6,000 signatures to date.

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