Advise please

Errata

Sorry you've been ripped off but 'should' doesn't mean 'will'.

texranger

Mistral001 wrote: »

A contract does not have to be pages of documents signed at the bottom. A verbal contract can be just as binding. Even a exchange of emails stating what they will provide and at what cost and your acceptance of this is a binding contract and is just as enforceable in law as a fully signed contract with bells and whistles (although the lawyers like to have something they can read rather than depend on the evidence given verbally in court, bless them).

However, in saying that, it seems that the completion date in the email you got is very woolly and might be difficult to act on in law I would imagine. A telephone call where the the developer stated that it would be ready in 4 weeks would actually stand up better than what you got.

You perhaps need to pay a visit to this firm. If they are at the other end of the country, a plane journey would not be out of the question for the sake of £2000 in my view. Get the address of the company and look for them on Google street view. That might be an accommodation address, but it is a start to actually getting to see this person. You might end up with getting some of your money back or getting the job pushed forward. However, most of all you will find out what is going on with this firm and you will learn from the experience.

anything like this i would insist on a paper contract with a confirmed completion date. a verbal contract is not as binding as it is your word against theirs the same with emails as anyone can send an email using your email account. the only actual legally binding contract is a paper contract signed by both parties. this can be a simple paragraph or a manuscript.

Mistral001

texranger wrote: »

anything like this i would insist on a paper contract with a confirmed completion date. a verbal contract is not as binding as it is your word against theirs the same with emails as anyone can send an email using your email account. the only actual legally binding contract is a paper contract signed by both parties. this can be a simple paragraph or a manuscript.

I think if you insist on a signed contract often you just will not get the work. Also, many signed contracts if they contain unreasonable clauses can be torn to shreds when it comes to the courts.

What I have said is quite correct. A verbal contract is a binding contract. Whether it is "as binding"? It is either binding or not binding. In fact there is an argument that a simple offer and acceptance verbally or by exchange of letters or emails with a mention of a consideration (money) in the offer could be held to be totally valid and binding when a written contract is not. A written contract could have small errors or unreasonable clauses in it which could be held by a judge to be not a valid contract and thus not binding.

Yes people can lie, but then it is up to a judge to determine who is lieing and who is telling the truth.