Contract Formation and Rights under Negotiations

Scenario 1: Avril and Belinda

(a) Avril runs a construction business, whose services she advertises in local print and online media. Belinda contacts Avril to have a shed built and provides a description and drawing of the planned shed. Avril responds by return and quotes a price of £750 in writing, with the stipulation that the offer remains open for a period of seven (7) days. Belinda emails Avril within the 7-days period that she will not accept the quotation. A couple of days later, having had second thoughts, Belinda emails back that she will accept the quotation after all. Avril emails back that the price is now £900.

State what a contract is, and the conditions for forming one. Then, advise Avril and Belinda on which contract(s), if any, have been formed in this negotiation and their rights and responsibilities under such contracts.

(b) Charlie distributes advertising flyers offering electrical services to homes in the town of Flitterbug. Darwash contacts Charlie at the email address printed on the flyer seeking extensive wiring replacement at his home. Charlie replies that any eventual contract will be made with him, but sends Eddie, an independent contractor, to assess the work needed. Eddie quotes Darwash £3,500 for the work. Darwash emails Charlie to accept the quotation. He does not hear back from Charlie, but Eddie phones to confirm that he will start the following Monday. Eddie completes the work. Darwash receives a bill for £3,500 from Eddie and £500 from Charlie. It turns out that Charlie is not the electrical contractor, but merely an agent who finds work for other electricians, like Eddie. After turning on the taps in his home, Darwash discovers that Eddie’s work is incompetent and needs to be redone entirely.

Advise Darwash on which contract(s), if any, have been formed and his rights and remedies in relation to both Charlie and Eddie.

Length Required

Please note the following when completing your written assignment:

1.Writing: Written in English in an appropriate business/academic style

2.Focus: Focus only on the tasks set in the assignment.

3.Document format: Essay

Ensure a clear title, course, and name or ID number is on a cover sheet and a bibliography using Harvard referencing throughout is also provided.

Research should use reliable and relevant sources of information e.g. academic books and journals that have been peer reviewed. The research should be extensive.

The use of a range of information sources is expected – academic books, peer reviewed journal articles, professional articles, press releases and newspaper articles, reliable statistics, company annual reports and other company information. All referencing should be in Harvard style.

This section details the assessment criteria. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. The marks available for each criterion are shown. Lecturers use a similar format to comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that would benefit from development/improvement.