The use of WhatsApp by so many people these days has great benefits. The ease of use, encryption and the fact it is so user-friendly have made it a major part of the lives of many people.
A recent ruling in the English High Court has brought into sharp focus how easy it is to create a contract in what has, until now, been generally considered to be an informal way of communicating. In this case it was decided by the Court that a contract had been concluded through a short exchange of messages on WhatsApp despite there being no signed agreement or formal written terms.
The contract was for a demolition project in Norwich. The court decided that just 2 key statements were enough to create a contract on WhatsApp:
Demolition contractor: “Are we saying it’s my job, mate, so I can start getting organised?”
Developer: “Yes. Monthly applications”.
The court ruled that where key commercial terms such as scope of work and price are clearly agreed, the mode of communication is irrelevant if an objective observer would view the parties as intending to enter into a contract.
Senior Partner, Graham Irvine, comments “For anyone intending to enter into a contract, it is worthwhile confirming terms in writing before starting work or making payment and if using WhatsApp, where you do not wish to be bound to a contract, you must make that explicitly clear in the exchange i.e. that the exchange is subject to contract and if you have standard terms of business ensure these are made available to the other party before agreement to proceed is given. The moral of the tale is that we can no longer presume that messaging apps are not legally-binding!”