Verbal Contracts

[Bluesky67]

Evening all,

I will not bore you with the details but basically I am a small business owner and have been stung by an energy company who say they have a verbal contract with me whereby I agreed to a contract over the phone.

Me trying to get out of the contract is now becoming rather messy and basically I want to access a copy of said recording. However I believe the energy company will just ignore my request.

Do they legally have to provide the recording? And if they don't, what would you suggest for me to try and obtain a copy from them?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all.

 

[barryo]

A verbal contract is a contract. It doesn't have to be in written form. However, it can be very difficult to prove a verbal contract if the other party disagrees. If the energy company attempt to chase you for compliance with the contract that they say exists, they have to prove it if you don't admit it.

I would suggest you write to them requesting a copy of the alleged telephone conversation. If they don't reply that's their problem not yours.

 

[Bluesky67]

Thank you for replying Barry. That's what I am thinking of doing. But I'm conscious of them not replying and me changing energy provider only then to be hit with a CCJ for unpaid energy usage.

A verbal contract is a contract. It doesn't have to be in written form. However, it can be very difficult to prove a verbal contract if the other party disagrees. If the energy company attempt to chase you for compliance with the contract that they say exists, they have to prove it if you don't admit it.

I would suggest you write to them requesting a copy of the alleged telephone conversation. If they don't reply that's their problem not yours.

 

[barryo]

They have to do a number of things before they can make a claim for a CCJ. You would at least receive a "letter before action." If you're sure you didn't enter a verbal contract you would then put them to strict proof in your response to the Notice Of Claim and apply for the claim to be struck out.

The small claims court process is easy to handle yourself but in an open and shut case like that I'd probably get a solicitor to deal with it because you can claim costs.

NB: I'm not a lawyer so you can't hold me resonsible for what I'm saying in this post, but I've dealt with quite a few cases over the years (claiming; not being claimed against ).

 

[Bluesky67]

Perfect thanks for your help Barry.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

A verbal contract is not worth the paper is written on !

 

[Mark T Jones]

Personally (I'm not a lawyer!) I would encourage the CCJ; they will have to offer proof in order to make it stick

My strategy would be:

• stop paying (keep the money to one side)
• Make it clear in writing (email will do), why you have stopped
• Ask them to provide evidence of your contract
• Highlight any specific issues you have with the contract or their performance
• Make it clear that if they can prove you have agreed to a contract you will honour it.

Don't enter into any correspondence outside these points. In the unlikely event that it goes to court and you lose you will have to cough up their legal fees, but there will be a lot of toing and froing before that happens

 

[NickGrogan]

All of the above is great, if you want to get cut off, have to pay additional costs and then have to pay a large deposit to get the meter live again, whilst still paying the high rates.

If however you don't want to get cut off then you might want this might help.

1) Verbal contracts are legally binding and they will have a recording of it. You admit entering into the contract in another post, so it exists somewhere.

2) B2B Energy contracts are fixed term contracts, you cannot cancel or leave early just because you change your mind. This applies to most B2B contracts, not just energy. If it is the supplier I think it is, then its is probably a 3 or 4 year contract.

3) If you try and change suppliers during the contract then the current supplier has the right to object to the transfer and so you wont be able to switch.

4) If there is debt on the account, then the supplier can object to the transfer even if you're not in a contract.

5) If you don't pay then the supplier has the legal right to disconnect the power, remove the meter and charge you for refitting it. This is all without going to court, and getting a CCJ or anything else.

6) If you still don't pay, given that they have a contract and have supplied you with energy as per the contract, they could take you to court and they will win. This will incur a lot of additional costs for you.

Happy to talk via PM or call me on the numbers below if you want more advice.

 

[Honey Blinds]

As the saying goes 'a verbal contract isn't worth the paper its written on' but in these days of making recordings for 'quality' purposes it is not so simple

 

[Mark T Jones]

All of the above is great, if you want to get cut off, have to pay additional costs and then have to pay a large deposit to get the meter live again, whilst still paying the high rates.

If however you don't want to get cut off then you might want this might help.

1) Verbal contracts are legally binding and they will have a recording of it. You admit entering into the contract in another post, so it exists somewhere.

2) B2B Energy contracts are fixed term contracts, you cannot cancel or leave early just because you change your mind. This applies to most B2B contracts, not just energy. If it is the supplier I think it is, then its is probably a 3 or 4 year contract.

3) If you try and change suppliers during the contract then the current supplier has the right to object to the transfer and so you wont be able to switch.

4) If there is debt on the account, then the supplier can object to the transfer even if you're not in a contract.

5) If you don't pay then the supplier has the legal right to disconnect the power, remove the meter and charge you for refitting it. This is all without going to court, and getting a CCJ or anything else.

6) If you still don't pay, given that they have a contract and have supplied you with energy as per the contract, they could take you to court and they will win. This will incur a lot of additional costs for you.

Happy to talk via PM or call me on the numbers below if you want more advice.

Fair point, but my reading here is there is significant doubt as to whether a verbal contract exists.

If the supplier can supply a recording then it's case closed!

 

[NickGrogan]

If the supplier can supply a recording then it's case closed!

Every single call they make will be recorded and stored.

Looking at the other posts, its clear that they entered into the contract and are now looking for a way out of it, so I'm pretty sure that the recording exists.

 

[Gecko001]

Me trying to get out of the contract is now becoming rather messy and basically I want to access a copy of said recording. However I believe the energy company will just ignore my request.

If you agreed to buying the service over the phone for a certain price you will have entered into a verbal contract. Are you saying that you did not agree to buying the service over the phone and the recording will prove this?