E-Commerce Offer vs Invitation to Treat
Q1) Consider the legal status of Web advert and whether it would amount to an offer in law;
Q2) If so, consider whether the filling in of the" buy now" form amounted to an acceptance of the offer;
Q3) Outline the consumer buyer's rights under the Distance Selling Regulations as they may apply to this sale.
In this assignment I must conclude whether the advert from Surjit's website constitutes a lawful offer or an Invitation to Treat. I will test this by comparing the two alternatives and assessing which is more applicable to the case study.
Offer V Invitation to Treat
To establish the difference between an offer by an organisation or if it is advertising an Invitation to Treat is whether the advert can be likened to that of a shop window or a ticket case. Ticket cases are in reference to ticket sales like those in rail stations and car parks an ideal example of this is Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd 1971. In this case it was the first time the claimant had been to an automated car park and was issued a ticket, which he had to purchase before the terms and conditions were shown for Thornton's acceptance. The court stated that it is illegal to add terms and conditions once the contract had been accepted and that the ticket was the acceptance of the offer.
The general rule for website advertisements is that they are an invitation to treat and not offers. This is due 3 main general factors that sellers must consider when selling goods. Websites can be likened to shop windows, where products need to be contractually controlled. 1, someone under the age of 16 is unable to purchase tobacco products in a shop, as the seller would be breaking the law. The same can be said for websites selling adult material as the seller cannot present that content to underage consumers. This case is best shown by PSGB v. Boots where the court dealt with drugs that should be bought over the counter as they are not fit for just any consumer of any age. 2, a degree of negotiations
Q2) If so, consider whether the filling in of the" buy now" form amounted to an acceptance of the offer;
Q3) Outline the consumer buyer's rights under the Distance Selling Regulations as they may apply to this sale.
In this assignment I must conclude whether the advert from Surjit's website constitutes a lawful offer or an Invitation to Treat. I will test this by comparing the two alternatives and assessing which is more applicable to the case study.
Offer V Invitation to Treat
To establish the difference between an offer by an organisation or if it is advertising an Invitation to Treat is whether the advert can be likened to that of a shop window or a ticket case. Ticket cases are in reference to ticket sales like those in rail stations and car parks an ideal example of this is Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd 1971. In this case it was the first time the claimant had been to an automated car park and was issued a ticket, which he had to purchase before the terms and conditions were shown for Thornton's acceptance. The court stated that it is illegal to add terms and conditions once the contract had been accepted and that the ticket was the acceptance of the offer.
The general rule for website advertisements is that they are an invitation to treat and not offers. This is due 3 main general factors that sellers must consider when selling goods. Websites can be likened to shop windows, where products need to be contractually controlled. 1, someone under the age of 16 is unable to purchase tobacco products in a shop, as the seller would be breaking the law. The same can be said for websites selling adult material as the seller cannot present that content to underage consumers. This case is best shown by PSGB v. Boots where the court dealt with drugs that should be bought over the counter as they are not fit for just any consumer of any age. 2, a degree of negotiations
References: Pettit Jo, (2006) Argos blunder means UK customers fail to get cheap TVs, http://www.computing.co.uk/vnunet/news/2108031/argos-blunder-means-uk- customers-fail-cheap-tvs Unknown Author, (1999) online row over L3 TVs, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/business/the_company_file/441426.stm Todd, Paul. (2005), E-Commerce Law, Cavendish Publishing Ltd, 2 Park Square, Oxon. Fell, Jon. (2006) The UK 's Distance Selling Regulations, London, http://www.out-law.com/page-430 Salmon, John. (2006) The UK 's Distance Selling Regulations, Glasgow, http://www.out-law.com/page-394 Taylor Martin, (2006), Contract formation on the internet, Lecture Handout Taylor Martin, (2006), Payment and related issues, Lecture handout Taylor Martin (2006), Implied terms in contracts for the sale of goods, Lecture handout.