Contract Law
Essay Preview: Contract Law
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Vodafone Contract.
Contracts arise when a duty does or may come into existence, because of a promise made by one of the parties. To be legally binding as a contract, a promise must be exchanged for adequate consideration. Adequate consideration is a benefit or detriment which a party receives which reasonably and fairly induces them to make the promise/contract.
All terms of a contract must be complete and final for the contract to be legally binding.
Representations are different from contract terms. These are things said in negotiations that do not become part of the contract and for which the remedy is a claim of misrepresentation.
I am currently binded to a contract for a telephone network service. I have a contract with Vodafone. The core obligation of the contract for Vodafone is to provide a telephone service. The core obligation for me is to pay for the service.
Some of the conditions set out in my contract for a telephone service may not be classified as terms and conditions. Some should be termed as warranties as they are less important than conditions in a contract.
Conditions are terms which go to the core of a contract. Breach of these terms repudiate the contract, allowing the other party to discharge the contract. A warranty is not so imperative so the contract will subsist after a breach. Breach of either will give rise to damages.
The terms of a contract may be expressed between the parties or may be implied. All terms can be classified into conditions and warranties. Conditions are vital terms in the contract and are of major importance whereas warranties are less important terms. Breach of a condition entitles the innocent party to end, or Ðrescind, the contract, and/or obtain damages whereas warranties only allow the innocent party to obtain damages for breach.
Among some of the conditions outlined in the contract it explains;
“Customers may, depending on the functionality of their Customer Equipment, be able to store Call Content in storage libraries hosted by Vodafone. Storage libraries may be password protected, in which case Customers must keep their password confidential. The Customer shall be solely responsible for and shall notify Vodafone immediately of any unauthorised use of storage libraries. Storage libraries may have a limited capacity and Vodafone reserves the right to charge for storage capacity. Vodafone shall not be responsible for any loss or corruption of Call Content in storage libraries.”
I feel that this may not be termed correctly along with other conditions. Another statement in the contract states;
1.5 Any waiver, concession or extra time permitted by Vodafone is limited to the specific circumstances in which it is given and does not affect the rights of Vodafone under this Contract in any other way. This Contract is governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Ireland. Any reference to any legislative act or provision shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be considered as a reference to such act or provision as amended, re-enacted or replaced.
A condition is the incorrect term for this statement. This may be a warranty and not a condition.
An express warranty is typically a guarantee from the seller of a product that specifies the extent to which the quality or performance of the product is assured and states the conditions under which the product can be returned, replaced, or repaired. It is often given in the form of a specific, written “Warranty” document. However, a warranty may also arise by operation of law based upon the sellers description of the goods, and perhaps their source and quality, and any material deviation from that specification would violate the guarantee.
An implies warranty is one that arises