"If there were no conditions attached allowing them to withdraw it I'd have thought that that would conclude an agreement. "
Under UK tort law, promising you free stuff does not mean I have to follow through on it. Case law is very settled on this.
The only exception is with promissory estoppel. If people immediately booked non-refundable flights and accommodation before getting the e-mail saying it was an error, they could claim compensation for actual loss, and at this juncture it might be cheaper for Zavvi to purchase tickets and just hand them over.
But the claimant needs a 'reasonable' expectation that the promise is also real. If I say I'll give you a million pounds if you are right about some trivia, and then you are, you are not entitled to it. If you quit your job in the expectation of receiving the million pounds, that would be when promissory estoppel would come into play, but in this case unless I were a billionaire and frequently handed out millions on bets, you would not have any reasonable expectation that I would in fact give you a million.
Usual IANAL applies here. This information is for entertainment purposes only etc.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
