Case Study
Peter advertised widely in the media, offering various subscription deals to ‘Vision’, his politics magazine. One deal provided a subscription for three years and required payment of £100 to be made by 30 April. Orders received after that date would be charged at £150. Ray sent an order with a cheque for £100, which he posted on 25 April. His order was not delivered until the afternoon of 30 April because of a postal delay. It was then too late to put the cheque into the bank. Peter processed the order but would not supply any magazines until Ray paid a further £50.
Sara paid £75 for a two-year subscription but, after 13 months, was informed that unexpected increases in costs made it absolutely necessary to charge an extra £15. Peter would not send any more magazines until the additional payment was made.
Tom wrote some book reviews for ‘Vision’. A few months later, Peter told Tom that he could have a free, one-year subscription to ‘Vision’, in recognition of the reviews he had written. Tom received no magazines.
Task:
Write a commentary and analysis of the contract law implications in the case study. You must use case law to provide evidence for the points that you make.
You should try to include most of the following:
• A discussion of the extent to which each of the requirements of a legally binding contract between Ray and Vision Magazine are satisfied.
• An assessment of whether Ray owes the extra £50 to Vision Magazine.
• An assessment of the legal rights, duties and remedies of Vision Magazine, and of Sarah, regarding the extra £15 charge.
• A discussion of the extent to which each of the requirements of a legally binding contract between Vision Magazine and Tom are satisfied.
• An assessment of the legal rights, duties and remedies between Vision Magazine and Tom.
• An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the current law on offer and acceptance in contract, and consider what reforms may be proposed to remedy any deficiencies.
