Dell ordered to honour £9 monitors

Dell has been ordered to honour an online pricing error that gave Taiwanese consumers 19in LCD monitors for only £9 (NT$500).

The pricing mistake was posted on its Taiwanese website at 11pm.

According to Taiwan's Consumer Protection Commission, news of the error spread around the internet and during the eight-hour period before the company pulled the advertisement 26,000 people placed orders for nearly 140,000 displays.

The Commission claims it received 471 complaints after Dell corrected the price to £90 (NT$4,800). In a statement it has ordered the company to honour the original listed price and sell the monitors for the advertised £9.

"If Dell fails to respond to this directive properly and concretely, then we will consider seeking legal alternatives," the Commission said.

Dell has apologised for the pricing error and claims it will be "offering reasonable discounts to the orders received under the wrong price," though it claims it's still negotiating with Taiwanese authorities on a final settlement.