Reference no: EM13895115

Homework : Contract ,Offer and Acceptance

On Tuesday, Danny placed an advertisement in the local newspaper to sell his motorbike for £1,500, cheque accepted, telephone number 524318. Paula, who was looking for a new motorbike, saw the advertisement on Wednesday and immediately telephoned Danny. She left a message, saying that she was willing to pay £1,300 for the motorbike. She left her telephone number and e-mail address, and said that if she had not heard anything about it by Friday she would assume the motorbike was hers.

Meanwhile, John saw Danny's advert on Wednesday and immediately posted a letter to Danny, saying that he would be willing to pay £1,000 for the motorbike, and providing his office e-mail address. Danny received John's letter on Friday. He immediately replied by e-mail, 'cheque preferred for advertised amount of £1,500. It's yours for that unless I hear from you to the contrary. John read the e-mail, and posted a letter to Danny on Saturday morning, agreeing to pay £1,500 for the motorbike.

On that Saturday evening, Danny met his friend Ian, and agreed to sell him the motorbike for £1,500. He sent an e-mail to John later that evening to tell him he had sold the motorbike, but John did not read the e-mail until the following Monday afternoon.
Danny did not receive John's letter until the following Monday morning.

Both John and Paula are furious.

What is the advice you can give to all the parties as to their legal rights

• What's the law relating to offer and acceptance?

• What is the effect of these rules on each of the parties involved in the scenario?

• What can you recommend for reforming the law

Focus your response to the scenario