I recently sold a boat for 10,500 pounds, the advertised price was 12,000 the buyer offered 10,000 ,to which i said you will have to meet me half way at 11,000,he said he would go to 10,500 if i showed him how to lay the deck, i agreed and we shook hands on the deal , his cousin being the witness, i have a recipt for the 10,500, whith no provisos, whowever things soon went bad with the working relationship, i refused to have any more to do with him,he is now threatening to take me to court for 500 pounds saying that i agreedto lay the deck which i never did, i would appreciate any imput you may have thank's.
2006-10-03 06:47:08 · 8 answers · asked by David G 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You made an oral contract. In English law an oral contract is just as binding as a written one, provided the basic requirements of offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to create legal relations are satisfied.
Offer - the advert you placed in the paper was what is known as an invitation to treat (that is you were inviting offers for the boat) the man then offers 10000 quid, you refuse. The man then offers 10500 with the provision you show him how to lay deck. You accept his terms. Your acceptance of these terms is unequivocal. The consideration in the equation is the boat to be exchanged and the service of showing him to lay the deck for the sum of 10500 quid. There is also clear intention to be legally bound as this is a contract for the sale of goods and services.
On this basis the contract is legally binding. It seems from reading this that the point of dispute is whether you were to lay the whole deck or simply show him how to do it. You say the receipt has no provisos on it so I assume that there is no paper record of these arrangements. As such the only witness to the agreement is a memebr of his family and as such if this did go to court it is pretty predicatable which side he would come down on.
For practicalities sake it is worth mentioning that the case would only go to the 'small claims court' as it is really a small sum of money. This is good news for you as it is not very often that a costs order would be granted to cover the winning party's legal fees - as such any solicitor would probably advise him that the case may be more expensive to bring than the amount he could win - making suing you pretty pointless.
If I was in your position, I personally would stick to my guns and just say that the contract was fulfilled
2006-10-03 08:31:29 · answer #1 · answered by ligiersaredevilspawn 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think what you are arguing here is the difference between showing someone how to do something and actually carrying out the work yourself.
If you sold the boat in the course of a business then there is possibly an issue in the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) where the consumer could demand what is called specific performance.
If this was an agreement between two private individuals then there is an agreement there if the conditions I told you before are in place.
This would be a matter for the judge to decide what words were said and what was reasonably agreed and what was implied.
I can't see that an action for £500 would result from this. It is pretty much a case of your word against his. His cousin is not an independent witness and will automatically take sides so his testimony would be biased.
Talk to your solicitor, but I can't really see this going any further.
He has the boat, you have the money.
Good luck
2006-10-04 08:10:46 · answer #2 · answered by LYN W 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An oral agreement can still constitute a legally binding contract as it contains all of the elements of a contract: offer, acceptance, consideration (meaning giving something in return, ie. the money), and intention to create legal relations (always present in a sale-purchase agreement).
The problem with oral agreements normally is being able to prove the existence of the agreement or the details of the terms. The fact that there was a witness present makes it easier to prove, but of course it is not definitive proof.
I agree that for a mere £500, legal action is unlikely to be instituted.
2006-10-04 06:35:09 · answer #3 · answered by London Aussie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're out of luck. A verbal agreement IS binding but that's not the point here: there is a witness. If the witness says you offered to lay the deck, you could well lose. You'd better show him how to lay the deck. Maybe that's all he wants.
2006-10-03 13:59:50 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You Win. Verbal agreement or not. You agreed to show not lay and as you said reciept contained no provisions.
For the sake of his £500 could cost him lot more so he waste his time and yours.
Anyway next time bring your own witness or record contract on video.
Good luck with the P***k.
2006-10-03 16:51:43 · answer #5 · answered by Daz74 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think he has a cat in hells chance. I don't think he would chance loosing money paying for court fees with only a small chance of winning. There is nothing in writing that is what the court would look at. I would ignore it untill you get a court paper. Go to citizens advice they give good advice
2006-10-03 15:31:34 · answer #6 · answered by rocky 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A verbal agreement is gone with the wind. Sorry Pal.
2006-10-03 15:35:07 · answer #7 · answered by Ricky 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I canot figure out the question, sorry,.
2006-10-03 13:49:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋