Quote:
Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19
At this point this is an academic exercise; I would never take legal action against someone for a kijiji furniture purchase.
In your example, we don't have certainty of terms - I agreed to buy a product in a certain condition, it turns out it isn't in that condition, therefore no contract. At minimum it would be a misrepresentation which is grounds for rescission. This is not a good analogy. And yes, it is legally binding - offer and acceptance for valuable consideration = contract.
Yes I do. Now, it's basically never worth suing anyone for less than a few grand, but technically yes, I could. As far as consideration, it doesn't have to actually be exchanged, it simply needs to be included in the deal. The contract is concluded when the agreement is made, not when the terms are carried out. I can draft a purchase and sale agreement that doesn't close for 6 months, but it's still a binding contract when executed.
I go to his place with delivery driver, look at items, hand him money. Stuff is then loaded by delivery drivers and taken back to my place, where I pay the delivery guys. Really, is this that hard to figure out?
If this is how you want to sell your item, don't conduct yourself as if you have a deal with someone else. How hard is it to put this in the ad?
I'm out of pocket the difference between this and what I end up paying for something else. EDIT: Also, in cases of efficient breach it's possible in some cases to obtain a disgorgement of any profits (i.e. his extra $100).
But I already said it's not much and not worth it, the point was it's still a breach of contract and people should honour their agreements.
Wrong. This makes literally no difference.
Had I not done so, I would've been the one in breach, and technically if he had then been forced to sell for less I would be liable to him for the difference. But I don't do this; I honour my agreements.
Totally, and those people are #######s too.
Yep.
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The way I learned it, a contract isn't a contract until consideration has been exchanged. That means either the full amount, or a deposit. In a real estate deal, until a deposit is delivered to a trust account, it is not a solid deal. In a kijiji deal, I would say it's the same thing.
Telling a guy over the phone that you're going to buy something is not a legally binding contract. I know you said that you weren't going to bother suing him, but my understanding is that you couldn't sue him even if you wanted to. I also know that the suing part was not the point of your rant, and frankly, I have much sympathy for your situation, as I agree that it would be really annoying for the negotiation to go as far as it did, only for you to get the rug pulled out. The only reason I'm replying is because I think you're wrong about it being a legally enforcable contract. I'm kinda hoping a lawyer (which there seems to be plenty of around here) chimes in and corrects one of us.