Offer
An offer is a proposal by one party to enter into a legally binding contract with another.
An offer can be made to different people/groups of people. An offer can be made to;
- A particular person
- A class of persons
- All the world
Rules:
Example:
Carhill vs. carbolic smoke company
The case of Carhill vs. carbolic smoke company is a prime example of an offer. The carbolic smoke ball company were selling smoke balls to prevent Influenza. The smoke ball company offered a 100 pound to anyone who caught Influenza after using the smoke ball for a period of 14 days. Mrs Carhill saw the add, purchased a smoke ball but then caught Influenza after the 14 day period.
As the smoke ball company made an offer to the world, being an 100 pounds in compensation if their product did not work, Mrs Carhill should be entitled to claim her money. However when she went to the company to receive her reward, they said that she will not be receiving any money and that they only used the 100 pounds as leverage to get people to buy their product.
Mrs Carhill then took the smoke ball company to court, where she won. She won because the smoke ball company made an offer to the world and was entitled to go through with it.
(Greene, 2013).
An offer can be made to different people/groups of people. An offer can be made to;
- A particular person
- A class of persons
- All the world
Rules:
- An offer must be communicated to the person accepting the offer.
- All the terms of the offer must be communicated to the offeree and brought to his/her notice.
- An offer may specify conditions to be followed.
- An offer may be withdraw/revoked at any time before acceptance.
- Some contracts require people to be of a certain age
- The offer must be legal.
Example:
Carhill vs. carbolic smoke company
The case of Carhill vs. carbolic smoke company is a prime example of an offer. The carbolic smoke ball company were selling smoke balls to prevent Influenza. The smoke ball company offered a 100 pound to anyone who caught Influenza after using the smoke ball for a period of 14 days. Mrs Carhill saw the add, purchased a smoke ball but then caught Influenza after the 14 day period.
As the smoke ball company made an offer to the world, being an 100 pounds in compensation if their product did not work, Mrs Carhill should be entitled to claim her money. However when she went to the company to receive her reward, they said that she will not be receiving any money and that they only used the 100 pounds as leverage to get people to buy their product.
Mrs Carhill then took the smoke ball company to court, where she won. She won because the smoke ball company made an offer to the world and was entitled to go through with it.
(Greene, 2013).
Blackpool & Flyde Aero Club Vs. Blackpool Borough Council