Clarity with offers
When is a quotation binding? And for how long? These questions are often as unclear to companies as they are to their customers. By Gabriela Baumgartner (lic. iur., LL. M.) is an editor and consumer law specialist at the Beobachter Consulting Center.
From a legal point of view, a quotation is an application for the conclusion of a contract. With a quotation, you invite your customer to conclude a contract with you under the conditions stated therein. In practice, questions often arise as to whether and for how long a quotation is binding.
If you do not explicitly mark your offer as non-binding, you are bound by it. Your customer can bring about the contract for the agreed service with the consent. If you do not want to be bound, you must expressly mark your offer as "non-binding". For this purpose, terms such as "subject to change" or "only as long as stocks last" are also frequently used.
Clear statements avoid trouble
Offers in catalogs, on flyers or on the Internet are non-binding by law. In order to prevent ambiguities, it is worth pointing this out. With regard to the temporal validity of offers, two cases must be distinguished:
If you explicitly set a time limit on your offer, it will be valid until that time expires (for example, "valid until August 13, 2012" or "valid until 6 p.m. tonight").
If the offer is not limited in time, the customer must accept it without delay according to the law. But what does "without delay" mean? If an offer is made verbally, for example on the phone, the provider is only bound during this conversation. If the customer does not accept the offer and calls back an hour later because he has changed his mind, the provider is no longer obligated to deliver on the terms offered an hour ago. He is no longer even obliged to deliver or sell anything at all.
The customer must not wait too long
If, on the other hand, an offer is sent by e-mail or letter, the provider is bound to his offer without specifying a validity period for as long as it usually takes for the customer's reply to reach him. In the case of mails and letters, this means one to two days. To avoid any misunderstandings, it is always a good idea to limit offers with a clear deadline.
The price is binding if it is calculated exactly or stated as a lump sum in the offer. In this case, the customer does not have to pay any additional costs. Unless you have informed him of any price changes, for example with the sentence "Prices are subject to change". In the case of quotations that are only approximately calculated, the rule of thumb in practice is that the customer must accept a maximum deviation of 10 percent.
If your customer does not answer after you have sent him a quotation, you should pick up the phone and ask. This is the only way to find out whether you really did not get the order and, above all, why not. Moreover, at this moment you have the chance to start new negotiations. Perhaps you will still be able to make a deal in this way.
For reasons of evidence, it is advisable to prepare quotations in writing above a certain volume and to have them signed by the customer. Also, always point out under what circumstances you will charge for the effort involved in preparing the quotation or estimate.
Book tip
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