OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE

Offer and Acceptance



Offer and Acceptance

Introduction

The offer is a unilateral act establishing the elements of the contract that the author offers individual, permanent, and by which he expresses his willingness to be bound in case of acceptance. The offer may be freely withdrawn as it failed to inform the addressee or if it has not been validly accepted within a reasonable time. The offer lapses if no acceptance within the period fixed by its author, and in case of incapacity or death of it occurred prior to acceptance. It also falls when the recipient refuses (Ewan, 2011).

Acceptance is a unilateral act by which the author expresses the wish to be bound in terms of the offer. Acceptance does not conform to the offer is ineffective except as to constitute a new offer. In the absence of statutory provisions, development of conventional professional use or special circumstances, silence does not constitute acceptance (Ewan, 2011).

According to the case study mentioned, Mickey has not been any offer. There was a lack of communication between the two parties as the seller was not aware of the offer made by the buyer. Rose has not made contract with anyone. If talking about Mickey, there was no interaction between the buyer and the seller. In the case of jack, rose had given him time to think about the offer but she has not made any official contract with him. When jack had thought about the price, it was too late for Rose to sell the bracelet as she has given the right to sell in the auction shop to Martha. Legally speaking, Rose is liable to Martha to give the Gold bracelet as Martha has acted according to the law and has sold the bracelet in the auction (Ewan, 2011).

Case Study

Rose owns a small but rather valuable gold bracelet which, in light of the present upturn in gold trading prices, she decides she wishes to sell. To get the best price she can, she decides to place an advertisement in her local trade newspaper. This advertisement, which is published on Tuesday 1st October, states: (1, 2008).

For Sale; One lucky charm bracelet. 24 Carat Gold. Weight approximately 14 ounces. Mint condition. Will accept £1000. Call 0123 456 789 for more details (1, 2008).

At 2pm on Tuesday, Mickey buys the newspaper and sees the advertisement. He immediately calls the number stated but finds that Rose is not home, so he leaves a message on her answer machine stating “I accept your offer and will pay £1000. Please call me back to discuss delivery”. Unbeknown to Mickey, Rose's answer machine has run out of digital memory and the message is not recorded so that Rose, in fact, never receives it.

At 4.30pm on Tuesday, Jack also sees the advertisement. His wedding anniversary is on the 10th October and he decides that the bracelet would make an excellent present for his wife, so he calls the number and speaks to ...