B2B contract unfair act

[K8ngj]

Hi all.... hope someone can help

I am currently in a ongoing dispute with a company that services our fire equipment. Me & a partner run a small family business and have been using this company since 2000.

Each year they would come to service our equipment & we would sign for the work carried out. So late last year we decided to do some cost cutting so I turned them away when they showed up at our door. Couple weeks later we received a invoice for lost of earning stating we signed a 120 months (10 year) contract dating back to 2014.

As you can probably understand we was shocked as at no point was we made aware of this agreement & we never had a copy of this. So after requesting a copies of this & going through all the details, this was hidden on a separate page together with 18 clauses.

After doing some research into this company it looks like we are not the only ones this has happened to so I want to know where we stand at this moment as they are threatening to take us to court.

Thanks in advance

 

[Newchodge]

Turned them away at the door? That is disgraceful behaviour. If you wanted to end the contract why did you not advise them in advance, so they did not have a wasted visit and lose money?

If you signed a 10 year contract, you signed a 10 year contract. Tough.

 

[Mr D]

OK I get how you have been unfair to them.

How have they been unfair to you?

On another note, what does the contract say about termination?

 

[K8ngj]

Turned them away at the door? That is disgraceful behaviour. If you wanted to end the contract why did you not advise them in advance, so they did not have a wasted visit and lose money?

If you signed a 10 year contract, you signed a 10 year contract. Tough.

Sorry I should've been more clear.

This is how the fire service company run.... they DON'T make any prior arrangements before they visit. For example, they would come January one year & May the next (very inconsistent).

As stated in my first post, we was NEVER made aware what we signing a contract nevermind a 10 year one. Each time a engineer visit to service the equipment they ask for a signature & a invoice will follow shortly in the post. It was only when we decided to cost cut we didnt to use another company hence we turned them away.

On another note, what does the contract say about termination?

Doesn't say much other than they have the right invoice us for reminder contract due to lost of earnings.

We would never have signed this agreement if we was made aware its for 10 years. They made no effort whatsoever to say its a contract nor the length of it. They even hidden this at the back into one of the clauses in smaller fonts.

 

[Mr D]

Sorry I should've been more clear.

This is how the fire service company run.... they DON'T make any prior arrangements before they visit. For example, they would come January one year & May the next (very inconsistent).

As stated in my first post, we was NEVER made aware what we signing a contract nevermind a 10 year one. Each time a engineer visit to service the equipment they ask for a signature & a invoice will follow shortly in the post. It was only when we decided to cost cut we didnt to use another company hence we turned them away.



Doesn't say much other than they have the right invoice us for reminder contract due to lost of earnings.

We would never have signed this agreement if we was made aware its for 10 years. They made no effort whatsoever to say its a contract nor the length of it. They even hidden this at the back into one of the clauses in smaller fonts.

OK, so you did sign the contract?

Consumers get lots of protection because they are treated like children that don't know whats best for them. Business contracts you are presumed to be an adult so get a lot less protection.
By what you have said they haven't breached the contract.

 

[K8ngj]

The contract was signed but we was never aware we was signing a contract. The engineer asked to sign for the work done & that was it.

This is what I'm trying to find out to see if we have a case to argue as the consumer act doesnt cover businesses.

 

[Newchodge]

I can't see you have a leg to stand on

 

[Newchodge]

As stated in my first post, we was NEVER made aware what we signing a contract nevermind a 10 year one. E

Didn't you read it before signing it?

 

[Mr D]

The contract was signed but we was never aware we was signing a contract. The engineer asked to sign for the work done & that was it.

This is what I'm trying to find out to see if we have a case to argue as the consumer act doesnt cover businesses.

So what did you sign?

You read what you were signing before signing it? Or just put signature on bottom of paperwork without reading?

 

[obscure]

The contract was signed but we was never aware we was signing a contract. The engineer asked to sign for the work done & that was it.

Sorry but it is not their responsibility to explain to you what you are signing. You are responsible for reading what you sign and making sure you understand it.

 

[K8ngj]

You read what you were signing before signing it? Or just put signature on bottom of paperwork without reading?

My partner just signed it when the engineer asked for a signature after carrying out a service.

I was thinking if I could use the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 "The reasonableness Test" to argue my case.

 

[Mr D]

My partner just signed it when the engineer asked for a signature after carrying out a service.

I was thinking if I could use the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 "The reasonableness Test" to argue my case.

You could spend time with a commercial solicitor, see if you have a case. They may well agree to take the money you want to spend.
Winning in a civil court? And what happens if you lose?

For this uneducated buffoon it sounds like they have a contract. Perhaps others will disagree.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Before you start ‘building your cae’ You need to confront key facts head on:

Was the contract signed by a person authorised to commit the business?

Were key terms contained on the contract at the time of signing?

Can you demonstrate and dishonesty or coercion into signing?

Assuming that your partner signed willingly then your case is very thin; the law assumes that business owners will be wise enough to read contracts before signing

In reality if you play hard ball you might get them to agree to a compromise agreement. If it goes to court it’s 50/50 which way it will go, and will incur legal costs.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

The threat of Publicity about there contract can be a method of getting negotiations moving at low cost as long as you stick to actual facts and not slander them, if nothing else it does warn others

I would have thought a free talk to a solicitor on unfair contracts may be worth a punt, and assess the amount they can charge whilst not providing the service,( I have a feeling they are unable to charge the full amount just the profit lost), but as others have said your firm signed the contract, which is a hard lesson to learn but very useful for the future

 

[DavidWH]

So after requesting a copies of this & going through all the details, this was hidden on a separate page together with 18 clauses.

Can you be sure that this separate page was part of the original document?

You started using them in 2000, so why would a 10yr contract start 14 years later?

What was the document that was signed?
If it was a job sheet/delivery note I think I may start banging terms on the back of ours to pay us £50 a week retainer.

If it was a delivery note, how enforceable are the terms, as the contract has already been fulfilled. I remember a

 

[K8ngj]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Can you be sure that this separate page was part of the original document?

Quite possibly as the length of the contract is inserted halfway in clauses 5 in size 8 fonts & my partner signed on the second page so they could change it anytime

You started using them in 2000, so why would a 10yr contract start 14 years later?

The contract was signed when a engineer visited to carry out a service & required a signature for job sheet but little did my partner know it was a 10yr contract. It was only recently that we found this contract existed.

We are only a small family business so we are not in a position to be fixed in any contract that length hence why I'm looking to see if we are protected under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 - The Reasonableness Test.

 

[Newchodge]

But you have been fixed in a contract with this supplier for 18 years!

 

[DavidWH]

But you have been fixed in a contract with this supplier for 18 years!

Have they though? The company may originally have just turned up each year, done the service, and got paid. With not formal agreement.

I can't see how signing a jobsheet/delivery note can commit you to a contract, as you have already received the service/goods before the contract is formed, and are signing that you have received them.

I remember a solicitor at a networking event saying similar, that it is pointless printing terms on the back of an invoice or delivery note, as the contract is already formed or completed, before the terms are presented. Ideally you need to see the terms before any work starts.

Get yourself to a solicitor and let them look at the document, as if it is presented as a jobsheet, signing that the work is completed, you could argue it. You could claim you were pressured to sign as the work was already completed, what looks to be a delivery note.