In an earlier post, I said I thought I remembered there being some sort of postal rule related to backorders. It is actually a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Rule.
This quote is from an article about Part 435 of the FTC rule on sales by phone and mail, which has also been held to apply to internet or eCommerce sales.
"Perhaps the thorniest and most overlooked areas of eCommerce are compliance with the varied regulatory burdens imposed by any number of governmental entities. One specific compliance issue, adherence to FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Rule 435 on back-orders can send even the most well-run eCommerce shop into paralyzing spasms of analysis paralysis as to how best adhere to both the spirit and letter and the law."
Back-orders and Rule 435 Compliance: Breaking the law! Breaking the Law! Breaking the Law! | Acquity Group Blog
There are provisions which talk about when cancellation by the seller is REQUIRED.
"When You Must Cancel an Order
You must cancel an order and provide a prompt refund when:
the customer exercises any option to cancel before you ship the merchandise;
the customer does not respond to your first notice of a definite revised shipment date of 30 days or less and you have not shipped the merchandise or received the customer’s consent to a further delay by the definite revised shipment date;
the customer does not respond to your notice of a definite revised shipment date of more than 30 days (or your notice that you are unable to provide a definite revised shipment date) and you have not shipped the merchandise within 30 days of the original shipment date;
the customer consents to a definite delay and you have not shipped or obtained the customer’s consent to any additional delay by the shipment time the customer consented to;
you have not shipped or provided the required delay or renewed option notices on time; or
you determine that you will never be able to ship the merchandise."
Business Guide to the FTC's Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule | BCP Business Center
So, there are rules out there that businesses must comply with when conducting phone, mail or internet orders. I have no idea if those rules account for WHY this happened in THIS case, or even if the rules apply to this situation. But, running a business "ain't what it used to be."
EDIT: BECAUSE OF A SUBSEQUENT POST BY THE ORIGINAL POSTER, I WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT I AM NOT SUGGESTING IN ANY WAY THAT MIDWAY VIOLATED THE LAW. I AM SUGGESTING THAT THE CANCELLATION OF THE BACK ORDER MAY HAVE OCCURRED SO THAT MIDWAY WOULD BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW. CAPICHE?
