Offer and Acceptance
An offer and acceptance is required for every contract. If an offer becomes is “agreeable”, it is paramount to “accept” based on the terms and conditions (Duhaime, 2007). When the offer has been accepted, it becomes valid. An acceptance gives a contract life. Through proper communication, the parties involved are required to accept the terms regarding product delivery. However, there are certain conditions that may limit acceptance of an offer hence affecting the validity of a contract.
First, there is the test of acceptance. This is where one party can decide to opposition the contract and hence end up breaching it. They can prove that they did not act or behave in a manner that shows that they intended to accept the agreement. In the test of acceptance, it is not easy for a party to be aware of the intentions of the other making acceptance unsatisfactory (Duhaime, 2007). It is nearly not possible for one party to reveal to the other their objective or intentions.
Secondly, acceptance of the contract rules can also limit the entire process. The first rule involves making communications about the acceptance because of the possibility for declining the offer. However, there is a possibility of the offeror to reject the terms and conditions of communication for acceptance of what is known as waiver of communication (Sexton, 2013). The second rule that limits acceptance is that there must be no modifications made on the offer if it is accepted. This rule limits the power of the person accepting the offer because in case they decide to make any changes, it will nullify the offer that was originally given thus cannot be accepted by the other party.
Thirdly, there is a standard form of the contract which must be signed for the two parties to accept the offer. In most cases, there is always a conflict of the forms where the two parties wants to add a liability waiver (Hobart Community Legal Service, 2013). This always rise in a legal dispute in which the parties will have to sign a contract that legally binds them, but they still may not agree about the standard terms which can force one party to withdraw.
The forth condition that may limit acceptance is the postal rule which may be convenient for one party and not the other party. This rule may limit one party because it excludes any contract that involves letters that have been incorrectly addressed (McKendrick, 2012). It also rejects other forms of communication modes. It means that the parties must use post to mediate for the offer to be accepted. One party may find this rule to be rigid since they consider other means of communication to be better than postal. They may therefore decide to reject the offer which limits acceptance.
Lastly, the time set for accepting the offer may limit acceptance. An offer can easily be rejected because the time that was set had elapsed. There is a period that has been set for the offer to be available without which it will not be accepted. The offeree is expected to accept the offer within the time that was specified failure to which the offer is terminated (Lawresources, n.d).
In conclusion, if any of the above five conditions are not met by the two parties there is possibility for the offer to be rejected. In most cases, one or two of the conditions have limited several people from accepting an offer. These approaches and rules may seem traditional, but they are paramount for the acceptance of an offer and signing of a contract.
References
Duhaime, L. (2007, May 7). Offer and acceptance. Retrieved from http://www.duhaime.org/LegalResources/Contracts/LawArticle-89/Part-4-Offer-Acceptance.aspx
Hobart Community Legal Service. (2013).Offer and acceptance. Retrieved from http://www.hobartlegal.org.au/tasmanian-law-handbook/consumers-money-and-debts/contracts/elements-necessary-contract/offer-and
Lawresources. (n.d). Contractual agreement: Offer and acceptance. Retrieved from http://www.e-lawresources.co.uk/Offer-and-acceptance.php
McKendrick, E. (2012). Contract law text, cases and materials. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.
Sexton, B. (2013).Contract law: Offer and acceptance. London: Sweet & Maxwell’s Nutshells.