Question

How can businesses that make offers protect themselves from the risk of loss associated with the rules of offer and acceptance by post?

Answer 1

Postal Rule

Where the circumstances are such that it must have been within the contemplation of the parties that, according to the ordinary usages of mankind, the post might be used as a means of communicating the acceptance of an offer, the acceptance is complete as soon as it is posted.

Special conditions attached to an offer must also be communicated: Though an offeror is free to lay down any terms and conditions in his offer, but it is the responsibility of the offeror to bring all the terms of the offer to the notice of the other party, the acceptor is bound only for those conditions which (i) have expressly communicated to him or (ii) have so clearly been written that he ought to have known them or (iii) have reaonsable notice of the existence of those terms. He will also be bound by the conditions if he knew of their existence, though they are in a language unknown to him. It is his duty to get them explained.

(a) A passenger had purchased a ticket for a journey. On the back of the ticket, there were certain terms and conditions. One of the terms was that the carrying company was not liable for losses of any kind. But there was nothing on the face of the ticket to draw the attention of the passenger to the terms and conditions on the back of ticket. Held, the passenger was not bound by the terms and conditions on the back side of the ticket. (Henderson V. Stevenson) (1875).

(b) T, an illiterate, purchased a railway ticket on the front of which was printed “for conditionsseek back”. One of the conditions was that the railway company would not be liable for personal injuries to the passenger. An accident caused some injuries to T. Suit for damages brought by T was dismised as he was bound by the conditions printed on the reverse of the ticket. (Thompson V. L. M. & S. Rly.) (1930).

Now it is the established law that wherever on the face of a ticket words to the effect “for conditions see back” are printed, the passenger concerned is bound by the conditions, it is immaterial whether he actually reads them or not. If conditioins are printed on the back of the ticket, but there is nothing on the face of it to draw attention of the person to these conditions, he is not bound by the conditions.

Thus, it is to be noted that a person, who accepted without objection a document containing terms of the offer, which he knows or ought to have known, will be bound by those terms even if he had not read them. However, this rule will not be applicable if the conditions are so irrelevant for unreasonable that an assent to them cannot reasonably be presumed. Similarly, where a condition to an offer is against public policy, it will not be enforced merely because it has been accepted by the acceptor.