contract law - offer

• Contract

  An agreement that the law will enforce
• Contract law is largely derived from common law, with many legal rules and principles from case law. In more recent years, Parliament have introduced Acts to help with the governing of contract law, such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
• Offer


  The starting point of a contract, where contract law sets out what amounts to an offer, when the offer comes into existence, and when the offer ends
• Offer

  1. Communicated by the offeror to the offeree

  2. Offeree can choose whether to accept or not, until the offer ends
• Offer

  Must be made in definite terms, with no uncertainty
• Offer

  • Gibson v Manchester City Council (1979): Council's letter stating "The corporation may be prepared to sell the house to you..." was not an offer due to the uncertainty
• Invitation to treat

  Not an offer, so cannot be accepted when making a contract
• Advertisements

  • Generally an invitation to treat (Partridge v Crittenden (1968))
  • Exceptional cases where an advertisement is an offer, usually in unilateral contracts
• Unilateral contract


  Offeror makes a promise in exchange for an act by another party. If the offeree fulfils the act, the offeror is legally obligated to fulfil their promise.
• Unilateral contract


  • Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. (1983): Company advertised a reward for using their product, which was a unilateral offer fulfilled when Carlill performed the act
• Goods in a shop window or shelf

  • Invitation to treat (Fisher v Bell (1961), Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists (1951))
• Goods at an auction

  • Invitation to treat (British Car Auctions v Wright (1972))
• Requests for information

  • Not an offer (Harvey v Facey (1893))
• Who can make an offer

  Anyone, including through a notice or machine (Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking (1971))
• How long does an offer last

  Can only be accepted while it is open. Offer comes into existence when communicated to offeree.
• Offer ending

  • Taylor v Laird (1856): No contract as new ship owner had not received communication of needing to pay wages
  • Stevenson v McLean (1880): Offeree's request for credit terms was only an enquiry, not an acceptance
• How an offer might end

  • Revocation
  • Rejection
  • Lapse of time
  • Death
  • Acceptance
• Revocation

  Offer can be withdrawn at any time before acceptance, by communicating the revocation to the offeree
• Revocation

  • Routledge v Grant (1828): Offer revoked even within stated time period
  • Dickinson v Dodds (1876): Revocation communicated by a reliable third party
• Rejection

  If offeree rejects the offer, they cannot accept the same offer again later. Rejection must be communicated to offeror.
• Rejection

  • Hyde v Wrench (1840): Counteroffer rejected the original offer
• Lapse of time

  Offer ends when time period expires, or after a 'reasonable' time if no time set
• Lapse of time

  • Ramsgate Victoria Hotel v Montefiore (1866): Long delay between offer and acceptance meant offer had lapsed
• Death

  If offeree dies, offer ends. If offeror dies, acceptance can still occur until offeree learns of death.
• Once an offer is accepted, and other contract requirements are met, there is a legally binding contract.