Avoid unfair terms in sales contracts

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1. Overview

Your standard sales contracts must be 바카라 사이트˜fair바카라 사이트™ or you won바카라 사이트™t be able to enforce them.

There are different rules on what바카라 사이트™s fair for:

You바카라 사이트™re legally responsible for certain situations, eg when goods you sell are faulty. You must not try to claim you바카라 사이트™re not responsible.

You have more responsibilities towards consumers than towards other businesses.

Customers바카라 사이트™ rights

Your customers also have implied rights when buying your goods or services, unless the contract legally states otherwise.

2. Unfair consumer contracts

You can바카라 사이트™t enforce unfair terms in a consumer contract, or unfair consumer notices (eg signs on a shop wall or in a car park).

You can never enforce terms or notices that try to avoid your responsibility for:

You might not be able to enforce terms or notices if they try to avoid your responsibility in other ways, eg:

  • delays
  • unsatisfactory services
  • not doing what was agreed

Your contract terms might also be unfair if they weigh the contract significantly in your favour, eg:

  • by providing for excessive cancellation charges and automatic loss of all upfront payments
  • by creating unbalanced rights, eg being able to cancel a contract at any time, but requiring the customer to give 3 months바카라 사이트™ notice
  • by allowing you to increase the agreed price at a later date

Your contract won바카라 사이트™t be unfair just because it sets a price that바카라 사이트™s higher than another business charges.

Contracts must be written in plain language to avoid being misleading and unfair.

If a customer complains

It바카라 사이트™s up to the courts to decide if a term in your contract or wording in your notices is unfair.

You can be taken to court by the Competition and Markets Authority or a local trading standards office to stop you using unfair terms or notices.

Consumers can also take legal action themselves to challenge unfair terms or notices.

Read the guidance on unfair terms.

3. Unfair business contracts

Your standard contract would be unfair if you try to not take responsibility for:

  • death or injury - under any circumstances
  • losses caused by negligence - unless to do so is 바카라 사이트˜reasonable바카라 사이트™
  • defective or poor quality goods - unless to do so is 바카라 사이트˜reasonable바카라 사이트™

You must not try to claim you바카라 사이트™re not responsible for these things.

What is reasonable

It바카라 사이트™s up to the courts to decide what is reasonable.

Courts will take into account:

  • the information available to both parties when the contract was drawn up
  • if the contract was negotiated or in standard form
  • if the buyer had the bargaining power to negotiate better terms

4. Implied and statutory rights

Your customers have implied rights when buying your goods or services.

Some implied rights are also known as 바카라 사이트˜statutory rights바카라 사이트™.

Products

Implied rights mean a product must be:

  • as described
  • of satisfactory quality, eg safe, in working order, free of defects
  • fit for purpose - capable of doing what the customer has asked for

Contracts for hiring, hire purchase and part exchange also have these implied rights.

Consumers always have these implied rights when buying goods - the contract can바카라 사이트™t legally state otherwise.

Services

Implied rights mean services must be carried out:

  • with reasonable care and skill
  • within a reasonable time (if no specific time has been agreed)
  • for a reasonable charge (if no exact price has been agreed)

You바카라 사이트™re unlikely to be able to enforce terms in a consumer contract for services if they try to deny a customer바카라 사이트™s implied rights.

Business contracts

Your business customers have implied rights unless the contract legally states otherwise in a way a court would decide is reasonable.