does the postal acceptance rule apply to email

However it is important to know the consequences of the Postal Acceptance Rule as it can have significant impacts on whether you must carry out a potential contract that you wish you could cancel. Does the Postal Rule apply to E-Mail? Although it is generally accepted that postal communications sent via the Royal Mail do benefit from the rule, other methods of accepting does not benefit from the rule. . Since 1818, the postal rules have been changed and developed a lot due to the formation of modern communications. 4 cf., Stone, R. (2008): pp. In relation to the post, this problem was solved by the introduction of the postal rule as an exception to the general rule.2. The first one examines the justifications of the postal acceptance rule, while the second part analyses thoroughly the application of postal acceptance rules to email contracting. You should not treat any information in this essay as being authoritative. Disclaimer: This essay has been written by a law student and not by our expert law writers. Get a fixed-fee quote from Australia's largest lawyer marketplace. We are located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. Therefore, complications have arisen in applying the postal rule.. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? The rule applies only where postal use is reasonable: Henthorn v Fraser and provides that acceptance by post takes place when the letter of acceptance is posted, not when it is received or the acceptance comes to the attention of the offeror: Adams v Lindsell (1818) 1 B & Ald 681, 106 ER 250 (not reported by LexisNexis). A rule of contract law that makes an exception to the general rule that an acceptance is only created when communicated directly to the offeror. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Civil / Private, Trade, Anti Trust Law, Business Law. The amendments in postal rules allow supervision on online business. People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. An acceptance can be made or communicated through conduct, silence, private courier, internet transaction, electronic communication and last but not least, by post. The postal rule creates an exception to the belief that acceptance is incomplete until it is communicated to the offeror. The rules of contracts by post (postal rules) include the following: An offer made by post/letter is not effective until received by the offeree. 806 8067 22 Registered Office: Imperial House, 2nd Floor, 40-42 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XB, Taking a break or withdrawing from your course, You're seeing our new experience! Free resources to assist you with your legal studies! In regards to an acceptance, the mode or communication of an acceptance can be broken down into a various components depending on the circumstances. Yet the contract laws of this times and a. However, a problem arises where an instantaneous method is used but the message is not actually instantaneous, Lord Fraser dealt with this problem in Brinkibon Ltd v Stahag Stahl[14]and stated that responsibility and risk was on the person who receives the message if they choose not to man their machines[15]. In short, the court held that the postal rule did not apply to an email, as it had been established by authority that it did not apply to other instantaneous forms of communication, like telexes (Entores [1955] 2 Q.B.327 and Brinkibon [1983] 2 A.C. 34). In 1818, in Adams v Lindsell, the postal rule was first introduced, when the court had to decide the time of contract formation by post. We're still at the stage of discussion. 2.2 Postal Rule, 3. Postal rule issues are one of the controversial parts of in the law of contract. The Official Cambridge Applicants for 2023 Entry Thread, ***Official Investment Banking 2023 Summer Internship Thread***, AQA A Level Law Paper 2 7162/2 - 13 Jun 2022 [Exam Chat], AQA A Level Law (options A and B) 7162/3A/3B - 20 Jun 2022 [Exam Chat], OCR A Level Law Paper 1 The legal system and criminal Law H418/01 - 6 Jun 2022 [Exam, incorporating secondary sources in legal problem questions. It has been held that a telephone conversation is the same as a conversation that is held between two people in the same room so the receipt rule applies[10]; this means that the offeror has to receive communication of acceptance before a contract has been established, this is obviously different to the postal rule in the fact that receipt has to be acknowledged by the offeror. J. The contracts between consumers and businesses selling through websites is expressly governed in this way by The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002[21]which implies that the receipt rule is effective in internet contracting by stating the order/acknowledgment of the order will be deemed to be received when the parties to whom they are addressed are able to access them[22]. That being said there might be delayed in between the sending of an acceptance. The letter than was misdirected by the defendant, and arrived later than it would have been. 65; Queensland U. Yet the contract laws of this times and a rule such as the postal rule are still legally binding and therefore the modern systems and especially email have to be integrated into the legal system. The posting rule (or mailbox rule in the United States, also known as the "postal rule" or "deposited acceptance rule") is an exception to the general rule of Contract law in common law countries that acceptance of an offer takes place when communicated. To discuss the postal rule in light of modern communications, it is first necessary to explore the traditional law concerning offer and acceptance by post. This seems fair as it is not practical to regard all messages sent at all times as indifferent to face to face communication. As long as they have sent their acceptance before you cancel your offer, then a contract has formed. This paper is then divided into two main parts. Basically, this rule can be defined as a rule of contract of law that makes an exception to the general rule and the principle stated was that, a contract is formed as soon as the letter of acceptance is posted, rather than when they are communicated. Consequently, communication in most of contractual transactions nowadays is generally no longer made on paper but shifts to paperless documents through technological devices such as email and other electronic forms. However the Lawyers & Jurists makes no warranty expressed or implied or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. The legal rule that when an offer in contract is expected to be accepted by post, the time and place at which the acceptance is posted is the time and place at which the contract will be taken to have been formed. A revocation, or cancellation of the contract must actually be told to the relevant person/party. Besides that, we have lawyers from top law schools who have extensive experience in international as well as local legal affairs. In consideration of the peoples participation in the Web Page, the individual, group, organization, business, spectator, or other, does hereby release and forever discharge the Lawyers & Jurists, and its officers, board, and employees, jointly and severally from any and all actions, causes of actions, claims and demands for, upon or by reason of any damage, loss or injury, which hereafter may be sustained by participating their work in the Web Page. It does not apply to instantaneous methods of communication such as telex or probably, fax or email. A second argument originates from one of the justifications of the postal rule above, as the law states that a person should trust the post[26]then surely it would be hypocritical for this not to apply to electronic post. (2007): pp. This article focuses on the issue of the application of a traditional postal rule in acceptance through post in a contemporary acceptance via email. The acceptor is bound but may be able to withdraw his acceptance if he can communicate this before the acceptance reaches the person who made the offer. When acceptance to a proposal is dispatched via post or telegram, the acceptance is complete when it is dispatched by the acceptor this is the Postal Rule. The Student Room and The Uni Guide are trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. This article provides guidance on starting your own car dealership business. The item on the webpage is seen to be an invitation to treat[17], the customer then puts the items in there virtual basket and proceeds to checkout where they give there credit card details to the seller, this constitutes an invitation to buy; this makes the transaction analogous to the situation in Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots Cash Chemists Ltd[18][19], the website only then displays a confirmation of order, the acceptance is often only communicated by dispatch of the goods themselves[20]. Tech. The initial fascination with 'everything Internet' and the persistent trend to equip otherwise unexciting legal . With the development of IT technology, distances between people are greatly shortened. Re: Contract law - mail postal acceptance rule If it was within the reasonable foresight of the parties that post might be used in the course of communications, then the postal acceptance rule applies regardless of the circumstances, unless it was expressly stated by the offeror that it did not apply (ie; there is a clause saying "acceptance . The justification for this is that instantaneous communication tends to be acknowledged whereas post does not[12]. It is essential you consider the postal acceptance rule when you perform contracts by post. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Except the speed of communication is similar to the instantaneous communication systems like telex. The purpose of this term paper is to critically discuss the arguments for and against the question, does the postal rule apply to email? Postal rules have become mature and complete after more than 200 years application. Tech. The fact that parliament have not legislated on the subject whereas they have given clarity to contracting through websites may suggest that it is their intention for the traditional postal rule of apply[31]. The post office receiving the letter forms the contract, rather than you receiving their acceptance. With e-commerce on the rise, it may also be worth considering whether the postal rule should apply to contracts conducted via e-mail and internet. Is it Legal to Reduce an Employees Salary? It does though require that methods of communication can be split into immediate and non-immediate, a distinction that may become blurred with future technological advances. Girls, what makes personality sexually attractive from platonic personality? In email contracts, there is absence of legislative establishment regarding to determine the acceptance or revocation of offer. There is an argument for this from a technical perspective, the average person may regard email as just as instantaneous as a fax or teletex, however an email is not sent directly between the two devices, instead it is transferred through a server. In the face-to face situation, business parties can communicate if any questions occur. A provision that requires acceptance to be communicated is the easiest way to do this. apply the postal acceptance rule to email communication would invite busi-ness and contractual uncertainty. While in the environment of distant contracting or indirect business, instantaneous method of communication is not available. It is also argued that it would be absurd to insist on enforcing a contract when both parties have acted on the recall. This means that a binding contract is formed and, accordingly, the person who made the offer cannot sell to another without being liable in damages for breach of contract. 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