Anyone able to offer quick advice on contract law?

hairyairyfairy

Can a contract be legal if only one party signs?

background, rang looking for price on an item, never committed to the price one way or the other, as I can price from several sources

"Contract" arrived in post subsequently, which was never signed by me, or returned by me

and now we are stumped by whether the inclusion of a line as follows is legal or not?

"the validity of this contract will not be affected by the non return of the counter-confirmation duly signed by sellers"

As i was under the impression that a contract has to have an offer and an acceptance, whereas the validity of the above line seems to imply it is a contract whether or not you sign it

and if this is so, then I can send contracts to people willy nilly for anything under the sun and whether the other party signs it or not, they are bound by the "contract"

Proper legal opinion only please (no offence but I have been arguing the theoretical side of this for 2 days and just NEED to know whether it can be a legal contract or not)

many thanks

Tom Young

There is a charter here which precludes coming here and seeking legal advice.

That said, the general principles are as follows:

Offer + Acceptance = Agreement;
Agreement + Consideration (+ Intention to Create Legal Relations) = Legally Enforceable Contract.

Now: In the context of a clause of a contract that might read as it does. If a party to the contract derives (say) a benefit, use, etc. which would or could fall into the category of legal consideration and the contract has been performed fully, or to a greater or less extent, then the existence of the formalities can be overlooked.

Now, certain exceptions exist, in order to satisfy the Statute of Frauds, such as the reduction of certain forms of contract to writing, or being under seal.

In the context of an everyday contract, e.g., mobile telephone, the non-execution of a contract may nonetheless make the contracting party liable for the bills and fees incurred thereto.

The form of what you describe might take that of a mail order contract. Failure to return the periodicals for example, might be deemed to be acceptance, etc.

It does depend.

As I said, and as a Mod, sorry but seek professional advice.

Tom