Self-test questions: Agreement

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. Zara visits her local supermarket. She takes several items from the shelves and places them in her shopping basket before placing the basket of items in front of Zak, the cashier, at the checkout, ready to pay. Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the normal process of contract formation in this situation?

The display of items is an offer and Zara accepted that offer by placing the items into the shopping basket. correct incorrect

Zara made an offer by placing the items into her shopping basket and Zak will have accepted that offer when he passes the items over the barcode reader. correct incorrect

Zara made an offer by taking the items to the checkout and Zak will have accepted that offer when he passes the items over the barcode reader. correct incorrect

The display of items is an offer and Zara accepted that offer when she took the items to the checkout. correct incorrect

The display of items is an invitation to treat and Zak will make an offer when he passes the items over the barcode reader. correct incorrect

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. Andrii supplies clothes to Fast Fashion Ltd. Andrii sends an email to Bertie at Fast Fashion, stating: 'I have some surplus stock which I need to get rid of. See attachment. I am offering it all to you for £2,000. Please let me know your answer.' Bertie has some documents to send to Andrii. He sends these documents by post and includes a letter which refers to his acceptance of Andrii's offer for the surplus stock for £2,000. Before the letter reaches Andrii, Andrii tells Bertie he has decided against selling the surplus stock and the offer is revoked. Which one of the following statements is true?

Andrii is bound to sell the stock to Bertie because the parties had entered into a unilateral contract by which Andrii promised to not revoke the offer. correct incorrect

Andrii is not bound by a contract because Bertie's alleged acceptance takes effect only when the letter is received by Andrii and Andrii had already revoked the offer by that point. correct incorrect

Andrii is bound to sell the stock to Bertie because Bertie's acceptance was effective once Bertie posted the letter and the parties had a contract at that point. correct incorrect

Andrii's alleged revocation is not effective because he was under an obligation to allow Bertie a reasonable amount of time to accept the offer. correct incorrect

Bertie is entitled to know whether Andrii has sold the stock to another party because if he has done so he has breached an obligation to not negotiate with any other party. correct incorrect

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. Delilah intends to offer to sell her collection of expensive paintings. She is concerned to ensure that she retains as much control as possible over the contract formation process. In which one of the following circumstances would an acceptance be ineffective because it does not comply with the prescribed method of acceptance in the offer?

The offeree uses an equally efficacious method of acceptance as that prescribed in the offer. correct incorrect

The offeree uses a method of acceptance that is more advantageous to the offeror than the prescribed method of acceptance in the offer. correct incorrect

The offeror makes it clear that the prescribed method of acceptance is the only and mandatory method, but the offeree thinks a different method is more reasonable and so uses that different method. correct incorrect

The offeree knows that the offeror prefers the prescribed method of acceptance and uses that method. correct incorrect

The offeror specifies that one of two possible methods of acceptance must be used and the offeree uses one of those two methods. correct incorrect

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. Rich Ltd sends a brochure to Jo, which prices a certain type of mountain bike at £250. Jo replies: 'I am prepared to pay £240 in cash for the mountain bike.' Which one of the following statements is true?

Jo's reply constitutes a counter-offer. correct incorrect

Jo's reply constitutes an acceptance of Rich Ltd's offer. correct incorrect

Jo's reply constitutes an offer. correct incorrect

Jo's reply constitutes a request for information. correct incorrect

Jo's reply constitutes a revocation. correct incorrect

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. Joy, the owner of Tyr Supermarket, advertises a 'reward of £500 for the first person to supply information if that information leads to the successful prosecution of the criminal mastermind responsible for a series of thefts from Tyr Supermarket'. Tahmina supplies the information from which the criminal is arrested and prosecuted. Tahmina claims the reward. Which one of the following statements is true?

The advertisement is only an invitation to treat and therefore Tahmina has no right to the reward. correct incorrect

The advertisement is only an invitation to treat, but Tahmina can claim the reward once the criminal has been successfully prosecuted. correct incorrect

The advertisement is a unilateral offer under which Tyr Supermarket is bound to pay £500 to Tahmina when she supplies the information. correct incorrect

The advertisement is a bilateral offer under which Tyr Supermarket is bound to pay £500 to Tahmina when she supplies the information. correct incorrect

The advertisement is a unilateral offer under which Tyr Supermarket is bound to pay £500 to Tahmina only when the information supplied leads to the successful prosecution of the criminal. correct incorrect

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. In relation to the postal rule of communication, which one of the following is not true?

The postal rule can be excluded by the terms of the offer. correct incorrect

The development of modern methods of communication, such as email, means the postal rule is of less relevance in modern commerce than it once was. correct incorrect

The postal rule does not apply to communications made by telephone, where the requirement is that the acceptance must be actually communicated. correct incorrect

The postal rule applies to attempts to revoke an offer, such that the revocation is binding on posting. correct incorrect

The postal rule only applies where it is reasonable to use post to communicate an acceptance. correct incorrect

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. Nathalie offers to sell her car to Baz for £2,000. Baz replies: 'Can I pick it up tomorrow by any chance?' Nathalie responds: 'If you pay by cheque, then it must be cleared by my bank before you can drive the car away, but if you pay by cash, you can pick up the car immediately if you wish.' Baz replies: 'I accept your very generous offer. I'll pay by cheque, but I need to collect the car immediately.' The next morning, Baz sends another message to Nathalie: 'Ok. I can pay by cash.' Baz turns up to pay that afternoon, but Nathalie then refuses to sell her car to Baz because she has received a better offer from Carlo. Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the legal position between Nathalie and Baz?

Nathalie's original communication is an offer, which Baz accepts when he says 'I accept your very generous offer'. correct incorrect

Baz's first response is a counter-offer, which destroys Nathalie's original offer. No contract can therefore take place. correct incorrect

Baz's first response is a request for information, but no contract can take place because Baz's second response is a counter-offer, which destroys Nathalie's original offer, and this counter-offer is never accepted by Nathalie. correct incorrect

Both of Baz's first two responses are requests for information and a contract is made when Baz's third response is communicated to Nathalie accepting Nathalie's offer. correct incorrect

There is a contract between Nathalie and Baz because Nathalie has failed to respond to Baz's last message expeditiously and Baz has relied upon Nathalie's silence by turning up to pay. correct incorrect

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. Annie, a landowner, sends a letter to Bea and Carl inviting them to make tenders for a construction project. In the letter, Annie requires that tenders 'must reach me before the 1 June' and must be submitted by returning a detailed document. Annie also states she 'will accept the most competitive bid'. Bea submits a bid of £30,000; Carl submits a bid of £28,000. Both bids arrive in Annie's office before 6pm, on 1 June. Due to a mistake by Annie's secretary, Carl's bid is not processed. The two bids are similar in all aspects but the price. After careful consideration, Annie decides to employ Bea as the constructor for £30,000. Which one of the following statements is true?

There is a bilateral contract between Annie and Carl when Carl submits his bid. Annie has breached this contract by employing Bea. correct incorrect

There is no contract between Annie and Carl because Annie has accepted Bea's bid. correct incorrect

There is a unilateral contract between Annie and Carl when Carl submits his bid. Annie is bound to consider Carl's bid and has breached this duty by neglecting it. correct incorrect

Carl's bid is a referential bid and so is not capable of acceptance. correct incorrect

There is no contract until Annie decides to employ Bea. correct incorrect

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. On 1 June, Marco, a manufacturer, sends a fax to Alisha, the owner of a stationery shop, offering to sell one ton of standard quality A4 paper to her for £500. On 3 June at 10pm, Alisha sends an acceptance, by fax, to Marco. Later that night, Alisha changes her mind and sends, by email, a revocation of her acceptance to Marco's private email address. At 9am the next day, Marco opens up his shop as usual and immediately sees the fax. Two hours later, he checks his private emails (from his shop) and reads Alisha's email in which she states she withdraws the content of her fax. Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the legal position between Marco and Alisha?

A contract exists between Marco and Alisha because Alisha can assume that Marco's fax machine is monitored 24 hours a day and Alisha's faxed acceptance is effective when it arrives at Marco's office at 10pm on 3 June. correct incorrect

No contract exists between Marco and Alisha because, by analogy with the postal rule, Alisha's email is communicated at the time it is sent and this precedes the time when Alisha's faxed acceptance takes effect, namely at 9am on 4 June. correct incorrect

No contract exists between Marco and Alisha as Alisha's email was sent to Marco's private email address, which is deemed a more reasonable method of communication than sending a fax. correct incorrect

No contract exists between Marco and Alisha because Marco should have checked his emails at home before departing for his shop and Alisha's email should be treated as having been communicated before her faxed acceptance takes effect at 9am on 4 June. correct incorrect

A contract exists between Marco and Alisha because Alisha's email has not been communicated when her faxed acceptance takes effect at 9am on 4 June. correct incorrect

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. Taiwo sends an email to Pete offering to sell her car to Pete for £5,000 and clearly states that the offer will be open for a week. On the fifth day, Taiwo receives an offer from Sally to buy the same car for £5,500. Taiwo then sends an email to Pete to say that she now wants £5,500 for the car. On the sixth day, Pete replies to Taiwo's second email purporting to accept the original offer of £5,000. Which one of the following statements is true?

There is no contract between Taiwo and Pete because Taiwo's second email has revoked the original offer to sell the car for £5,000. correct incorrect

There is a contract between Taiwo and Pete because Taiwo's second email is not an express revocation of the original offer and Pete can pick one of the two offers to accept. correct incorrect

There is a contract between Taiwo and Pete because Taiwo specified a time by which the first offer would remain open, so a court would deem that Taiwo's second offer was intended to take effect only after the expiry of the specified one-week period. correct incorrect

There is a contract between Taiwo and Pete because Taiwo clearly states that the original offer is open for a week and thus cannot revoke it before that period expires. correct incorrect

There is a contract between Taiwo and Pete because Pete replies to Taiwo's second email and Pete's reply must be taken as an acceptance of Taiwo's second offer of £5,500. correct incorrect

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. Which one of the following statements relating to revocation of a unilateral offer is most likely to be true?

The offeror is entitled to revoke the unilateral offer at any time before completion of the performance of the act requested in the offer. correct incorrect

The offeror loses the power to revoke the unilateral offer once an offeree has commenced performance of the act requested in the offer, regardless of whether the offeror has notice of the fact that performance has commenced. correct incorrect

The offeror loses the power to revoke the unilateral offer once the offeror has notice that an offeree has commenced performance of the act requested in the offer. correct incorrect

The offeror has a general implied obligation to not revoke the unilateral offer once the offeror has notice that an offeree has commenced performance of the act requested in the offer. correct incorrect

An offeror can only revoke a unilateral offer if the offer contains an express stipulation that it might be revoked. correct incorrect

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. Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the decision in Byrne & Co. v Van Tienhoven & Co. (1880) 5 CPD 344?

A telegraphed acceptance became effective when received by the offeror. correct incorrect

An offeree could not accept an offer after the offeror had posted a letter revoking the offer. correct incorrect

Revocation of an offer by post would only become effective when received by the offeree. correct incorrect

Once an offer was accepted, and assuming that a letter of confirmation followed the acceptance, any revocation of the offer became ineffective. correct incorrect

For a revocation to be effective, the offeror must use the same method of communication for the revocation as used for the initial offer. correct incorrect

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. In relation to the acceptance of an offer, which one of the following is not true?

A valid acceptance cannot take place in total ignorance of an offer. correct incorrect

There can be no valid agreement between two parties if both parties make an offer to each other in ignorance of the other's offer, even if the terms of each offer are identical. correct incorrect

In a request for bids in which the party inviting bids promises to accept the highest bid, the use of a referential bid is a recognised and accepted technique to ensure the party submitting the referential bid submits the highest one. correct incorrect

An acceptance can be by conduct. correct incorrect

An acceptance can, in some circumstances and depending on the agent's authority, be communicated to the offeror's agent. correct incorrect

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. Alex offers to sell his electronic tablet to Trish for £75. Alex and Trish agree that, if Trish does not contact Alex by the following Thursday, Alex can assume that Trish has accepted the offer. Thursday passes and Alex claims that a contract has been formed. Trish refuses to pay. Which one of the following statements is true?

Alex cannot impose silence on Trish as a means of acceptance so no contract has yet been formed. correct incorrect

The arrangement between Alex and Trish is no more than an invitation to treat. correct incorrect

The Unsolicited Goods Act 1971 prevents Alex from forcing the sale to Trish. correct incorrect

Because Alex and Trish agreed upon the mode of acceptance, a contract of sale is formed after Thursday by Trish's failure to respond to Alex. correct incorrect

Alex's offer lapses after Thursday, so Trish does not have a contract with Alex. correct incorrect

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. In relation to the approach to ascertaining agreement, which one of the following is not true?

The courts adopt a primarily objective approach to agreement for reasons of practicality, because if a wholly subjective approach were taken, it would raise difficulties of evidence and proof in establishing what a party was actually thinking at the time the agreement was reached. correct incorrect

Communications between parties, whether oral or written, are to be understood in the way that a reasonable person in the position of the recipient would have understood them. correct incorrect

The courts will consider parties' subjective intentions in certain circumstances; for example, where the offeree knows of the offeror's actual intention and this differs from what the offeror would have been taken to have intended on an objective approach. correct incorrect

Parties' subjective intentions are entirely irrelevant and the courts adopt an objective approach in the interests of certainty. correct incorrect

It has been recognised that the courts will take a pragmatic approach to agreement, even if this means forcing the facts to fit into the marked slots of offer and acceptance. correct incorrect