Homer's Dilemma: Exclusion Clauses in TV Shop Sale - An Essay

BL Assignment A TV Shop advertises its annual sale in the local press. The advertisement states that all television sets will be available at less than half price and the first customer through the doors at opening time on March 1st will also win a case of champagne. Homer arrives at the shop the night before the sale to ensure that he is first in the queue but, unfortunately, he falls asleep before opening time and the next person in the queue enters the shop first, winning the champagne. Homer finds a TV that he wants to purchase, however the manager refuses to give him the television at half price. When Homer told him of the advert, the manager replied, 'I only put the advert in to get people into my shop, none of the televisions are half price'. The manager also points to a sign at the back of the shop which advises that the shop may withdraw sale items at its discretion Explain, using case examples and statute where appropriate, the legal implications for Homer and the way in which the law has tried to regulate exclusion clauses. Your response should be in the form of a written report of between 1,500 and 2,000 words. The learning outcome for this assignment is: • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of the English Legal system, relevant legal institutions and four principal areas of law relevant to the operation of a business • Research effectively a number of cases and other sources of information to help interpret the law

A contract is a legal document, under which a promise is exchanged amongst two or more parties. In a contract, one party promises to do something or refrain from doing something and this is done in exchange of consideration which is payable by the other party (Clarke and Clarke, 2016). A contract can be of two forms, a written contract or a verbal contract. In a verbal contract, all the terms on which the contract is based, is exchanged orally. And in a written contract, the terms upon which the contract is based are jotted down on a document, which is signed by the parties to the contract (Andrews, 2015).

To form a contract, the essential elements of the contract have to be present in it. The essentials of contract include an offer, an acceptance to the offer, a consideration, the intent to form legal relationship, the capacity, and the clarity (Elliot, 2011). The willingness to contract is showcased through an offer. An offer has to be differentiated from an invitation to treat, which is more of a willingness to negotiate, and hence, is not the same as an offer (Abbott, Pendlebury and Wardman, 2007). Commonly, the newspaper advertisements are considered to be invitation to treat and the parties giving the advertisements are not under the compulsion to go through with the sale. This is because in such cases, instead of an offer, an expression is made. This was famously held in the legal matter of Partridge v Crittenden [1968] 1 WLR 1204 (Swarb, 2016).