P7 Kojar Ahmed
When a contract is breached by a buyer, the seller has multiple remedies within that contract which
can help protect them. A remedy is basically a clause or action the buyer can take to prevent them
from losing out on money or goods which were agreed upon beforehand.
A personal remedy allows the seller to sue the customer for the price of goods that they sold to
them, this could include going to court if necessary. The seller can accuse the buyer of either not
paying the full price of the goods or for not paying for goods at an agreed date, this is enforced by
section 49 of the Supply of Goods Act 1982. The seller is also able to claim for damages when the
consumer has not accepted the goods as agreed.
Ream remedies concern sections 41 to 43 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. This states that businesses
have the right to keep goods until they have received payment in goods. This may happen in garages
where they refuse to return a vehicle until the customer has paid the full price for the service. There
are usually three remedies available to a business under real remedies. The first is ‘Lien’ which has
been mentioned above, the second is when a supplier regains possession of goods which are already
on their way to the consumer because they have not paid the price of the goods, and the third
remedy gives the business the right to resell goods which have not been claimed or paid for by a
consumer, allowing them to make back what they spent on it. The third remedy can only be done in
certain circumstances such as the following:
The goods are perishable in nature, such as food.
The seller has notified the buyer, or made every attempt to notify the buyer.
When there is an express clause in the contract which gives them the right to resell the
goods if the buyer defaults on payment.
Reservation of title is a contractual term that states a business has the right to reserve their goods
until the price from them has been paid in full. This is an express term that is used in many
businesses such as retailers. This essentially means the consumer has no title over the goods until
they have paid the full price form them, giving the seller the right to withhold any goods. This also
applies to services such as dry cleaners where they have the right to withhold your goods until they
have received full payment. This can also apply if for example a customer has had their car washed
but has refused to pay for the service, the business would have the right to withhold the vehicle until
the full price of the service has been paid.
I shall now talk about the remedies available to the buyer.
Section 13 rejection of goods states that if a customer is given goods which are unfit for purpose or
not as described then they have the right to reject them and demand for their money back. However,
the consumer must demand their money back and reject the goods within a reasonable time, usually
30 days if a product has been bought in a store or a day or two for delivered goods.
When suppliers make deals with businesses to deliver a certain amount of goods at a specified time,
they should ensure that they are always providing the agreed upon quantity and quality of goods. If
not, then the business has the right to legally reject these goods as they breach the terms of the
contract. This has been specified by the Sale of Goods Act of 1979.
Merchantable quality is in subsection 2 of section 14 and simply means that a product is fit for
purpose in which they have been advertised, this means that if a product arrives and is faulty then
the consumer has the right to demand their money back.
Fitness for purpose is in subsection 3 of section 14 and simply states a product must be fit for
purpose when they have been advertised to a buyer. The seller has the right to detail the purpose of