verbal contracts

husheechee

How safe is a verbal contract?
A few weeks ago I had a call from a customer asking me to price for some replacement double glazed windows.
I duly measured and priced the units(just glass needed replacing) and gave the customer the price.
The customer said yes go ahead and place the order with the company(all DG units have to be paid for before the order is accepted) which I duly did and paid as a cash sale with a receipt for the units.
I was ready to fit the units and informed the customer of the fitting date and all I got was abuse on the phone with the customer throwing a "wobbler" and refusing to have me fit them for reasons I don't really know but also refusing to pay for the units that have been made.
This has now left me with a hole in my pocket to the tune of £600..ouch.
I didn't ask for any deposit as I had done work for this person before and thought we had complete trust with each other.
What does the forum think I should do?
I have a receipt for the units and in my mind that in itself constitutes "the contract" and obviously these units are made to measure and wouldn't fit any other property plus all the measurements and jottings I made in my diary at the time.
Your answers would be greatly appreciated
H

ElefantEd

A verbal contract is traditionally worth the paper it is printed on.

You can't, unfortunately, prove what was agreed - or that anything that was agreed.

patman99

A verbal contract is legally binding (having studied English Contract Law at A-level, I should know).

Just invoice them for the costs incurred by you and if they refuse to pay, follow-up with a letter before action.

tomtontom

patman99 wrote: »

A verbal contract is legally binding (having studied English Contract Law at A-level, I should know).

Just invoice them for the costs incurred by you and if they refuse to pay, follow-up with a letter before action.

A verbal contract is in theory binding (I'm guessing your A Level didn't go further than that) but needs to be evidenced - a court would decide on the balance of probabilities which side has the more convincing story.

OP, is there anything in writing between you and the customer, I'm assuming the receipt was from the manufacturer to yourself? The difficulty you have is proving the customer intended to be bound by your discussions and that it was not just a quote they wanted.

husheechee

apparently verbal contracts can be proved by physical proof or proven by actions..which is why I mentioned the fact that I have DG units that will only fit in that particular property,I wouldn't just supply them for no good reason,I would have had an agreement with the customer beforehand and just for good measure I have a witness that was there when the customer agreed to the price an cost of fitting.
I thin k a Judge would look at this a bit more favourably towards me,especially if I try mediation first

husheechee

Yes the balance of probabilities is the way to prove this.
I only have the invoice from the manufacturer.
And I have nothing in writing between us.
The customer is someone who I have done work for in the past and has always been very happy and I thought we had a good working relationship,thats why I didn't feel that I had to ask for money up front before placing an order.The customer was more than happy with the price and gave the go ahead straight away and I placed the order on the same day I measured for the units.
So no it wasn't a quote or estimate,It was a price I gave and accepted by the customer on the day.And no I'm not a DG salesman!
If it had been a customer that I hadn't dealt with before then there is no doubt I would've asked for 50% up front.
I think I've got a fair bit going in my favour.
Apart from the fact that there's a lot of money at stake for me.




)

puppey

I think sending an invoice in the mail is a good first step, start documenting the paper trail from now.