Business Law

I have been given a problem and have been asked to advise the person in the problem of who she has a contract with as there are two businesses involved in the situation.

Before I differentiate and advice Reena about who she has a contract with, I will become familiar with the main terms involved that will help me in the process of giving the appropriate advice.

Contract is an agreement between two or more capable parties in which an offer is made and accepted, and each party benefits. The agreement can be formal, informal, written, oral or just plain understood. Some of the contracts require to being in writing in order to be enforced.

An offer is a proposition put by one person (offeror) to another (offeree) with an indication that they are willing to be bound by its terms should the other person accept. The proposition can be made orally, in writing or by conduct, and made to a specific individual, group or the world at large. To be regarded as an offer it must be clear, precise and capable of acceptance as it stands.

In the problem I have been given Reena has offers from two businesses. One is Shockless and the other is Quentin.

Acceptance converts an offer into an agreement. Before acceptance has taken place, neither party is bound to the agreement; but after acceptance, both parties are. Acceptance has to match the terms of the offer exactly.

Acceptance must be with the awareness of the offer if there is to be agreement and ultimately a contract. In R v Clarke (1927) acceptance was not made in reliance of the offer and so no contract was made.

Consideration is something that is required in all valid contracts. Consideration is anything of value. All parties to the contract have to exchange something of value.

In the problem I have been given, the person Reena had just recently moved into a new flat and wanted to get the wiring replaced. She telephoned Quentin to make an enquiry and said she would think about it.

She approached another firm of electricians, Shockless, to see if she could negotiate a cheaper price for the work. They sent her a letter saying they could do the work for ₤2500 but they needed to hear from her by 15th October.

Where the offer is stated to be open for a certain period of time, it will lapse once that time has expired. Referring to the case Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefiore (1866).

So Reena had to reply to the offer by the 15th October or it will lapse after that period has passed.

Reena received the letter stating the offer on the 10th October and she immediately sent an acceptance letter on the 10th October but her letter was delayed in the post and

Shockless did not receive it until 16th