Some deals are too good to be true

A glitch on Woolworths' website meant that liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs that normally retail for more than �1,000 were going for just over �100.

News spreads fast online, and before Woolworths could say "ding dong", their website was inundated with shoppers.

Alarm bells starting ringing within an hour of the error, Woolworths said.

'Rare occasions'

It seems that a mixture of computer error and human inputting may have led to a zero being left off the end of the TVs' retail price.

A spokesman for Woolworths said that it was too early to say how many orders had been taken, but it was well over a thousand.

Woolworths has already contacted customers that placed orders to inform them of the error and to apologise for the inconvenience Woolworths

He countered accusations of non-festive behaviour by the retailer, saying that the company was doing all it could to rectify an error that was unfortunate and unforeseen.

"Woolworths endeavours to ensure that all pricing information on its website is accurate," the company said. "However, on very rare occasions, errors do occur."

"The terms and conditions on our website state that we will contact customers within 24 hours if a pricing or order error occurs.

"Woolworths has already contacted customers that placed orders to inform them of the error and to apologise for the inconvenience."

No cheers

Errors such as this have happened before at other retailers - and at Woolworths a number of years ago - and the cut-price special offers are rarely honoured.

As disappointing as it must be for the quick-clicking shoppers, companies are not bound to sell at the price advertised on their website.

One of the most well-known is Argos, whose website once accidentally priced a 21-inch television at �2.99 instead of �299.99.

And earlier this week, Sainsbury's closed a loophole that promised clients a large discount on drinks they bought online.