Contract created by email
There are still many businesses and individuals that forget that a contract can be created in writing, verbally or even by conduct. A good example is simply buying a newspaper in a shop, this is of course as much a legal contract as a multimillion pound deal. Another common way in which contracts are created now is by email exchanges . This was re-confirmed by a recent case relating to retaining an estate agent on a property sale. The estate agent’s terms of business were attached to a general email. The property seller than responded, again by email, with the words “that’s fine, look forward to viewings”. The agent said that this amounted to an acceptance of their terms. The case reached the Court of Appeal which confirmed that a contract had been concluded, so be vigilant when it comes to email exchanges in the future.