Question posted in the General Law category relating to KwaZulu-Natal
Good day ....i do wendyhouses to confirm the order i take 70 percent deposit .i had a foot operation in january this year and hasnt recovered yet .so what has happened is that i had extra expenses due to hiring a driver etc and underquoting ....i sit in a situation where i have used some of the deposits and sitting in a position where i cant deliver goods ..i beleive with time i could work myself out of the dillema .
What can i do ...please help
Message from the Attorney
Hi there and thank you for your question,
Would I be wrong to say that, in accepting a person's deposit, you have indicated that you have reached an agreement with the purchaser on the terms of the work that you are going to do. i.e. I will build you a XYZ wendy house, dimensions 123, for a cost of R xxx, and you must pay a 70% deposit.
I would argue that you have.
If that is the case, then on what legal basis are you entitled to vary the terms of the agreement and unilaterally increase the price?
If the price of the wood all of a sudden went up, do you think that your customers (who have already paid a deposit, and have already agreed on a price with you) would be happy if you phoned them and told them that the price was going up 20%? No. I don't think so.
Your customers would argue: I've paid a deposit; I've secured an order; We've agreed on the terms. You must deliver. They would say "It's not my fault that the cost of the wood has gone up; deliver!"
Legally speaking, you need to deliver.
If you can't deliver, then you're basically in breach of the contract with your customer and you might find yourself being sued by one or more customers!
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Att. Patrick
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