Q. I recently notified my business's telephone line suppliers that I was terminating their contract as they were too expensive. They said that under their standard terms and conditions I would have to pay them a termination charge equivalent to 3 years charges. Surely this is unfair? I have never even seen their terms and conditions and I didn't ever sign a contract. Do I have to pay this charge?
A. Whenever two parties enter into a business contract they are essentially free to negotiate any terms they wish. There is no general requirement for the terms to be in writing or to be "fair" and therefore, provided the terms were agreed at the outset, they will bind the parties (the position is different, incidentally, for consumer contracts where the law implies certain terms to protect consumers against commercial businesses ).
Naturally, one party cannot simply impose its standard terms and conditions upon the other without the other's agreement. Where terms are contained in an unsigned document (such as standard Ts & Cs) the terms will only form part of the contract where it can be shown that reasonable steps were taken to bring these to the other party's attention before the contract was made.
If the telephone company can show this then you are likely to be bound. We suggest therefore that you gather together all paperwork and correspondence relating to this matter (in particular any marketing literature provided to you before you entered into the contract) and arrange an appointment in order that we review the position very carefully before giving you appropriate advice.
