PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING!


By Karen Brain INSTRUCTION, CLIENTS & TERMS AND CONDITIONS


In life most things are simple, and this is so if basic guidelines are followed in what ever you do in your business and personal life. It is so easy to overlook, neglect to do or decide in a fleeting moment of haste that a step is not necessary and so omit it; and those omissions can often lead to substantial long-term grief.


In this short article we are going to look at a few basic steps that should be undertaken when dealing in business i.e. when forming a binding agreement (a contract) to reduce the possibility of “grief”.


We start by asking three basic questions: 1. Do you know who instructed you? 2. Do you know who your client is?


3. Do you know if your terms and conditions are accepted?


So, a scenario is: You take a telephone call from a person, perhaps a sales broker, asking you to undertake a survey on a vessel for which he has a potential purchaser. Business for you may be slow, or it seems a good opportunity or you know the broker well. So, you say yes you will do the survey.


• Have you formed a binding agreement (oral contract) at this point? Good question. Not if the amount to be charged has not been discussed and agreed;


100 | The Report • September 2020 ember 2020 •• Issue 93 Issue 93


consideration is a required element of forming a binding agreement (a binding contract) and this can be money or monies worth.


• Have you advised them before accepting the job that all your work is undertaken under your terms and conditions; these may be standard terms and conditions?


Let’s go back a stage. A contract (a binding agreement) may be oral or written and is formed by:


• Offer • Acceptance • Consideration • Intent to create legal relations • Certainty


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