Don’t fall fast for the sales pitch

By Harold Ayodo

Purchasing property that fails to correspond with the descriptions from the seller is not new. Take, for instance, the hundreds of people who import second hand cars because they are more affordable compared to new cars.

It is common to find buyers complaining that the cars they bought online or from car marts don’t match the specifications on paper. The vehicle may lack automatic gears, leather seats, air conditioners and other accessories promoted in the sale documents. Consequently, buyers may be compelled to spend more money overhauling the cars to match their taste.

The same applies to household goods such as fridges, television sets, music systems, blow driers, cookers, ovens, sofa sets, wall units, cabinets or beds. Buyers often discover the items they bought so gleefully are actually faulty yet they cannot take them back because the sellers have a ‘no refund’ policy.

However, the law does provide for this circumstance and defrauded buyers can reject the faulty assets and sue the sellers for breach of conditions and warranties and demand compensation for damages.

Many people do not understand the meaning of ‘conditions and warranties’ in contracts of sale. A condition is a main obligation and an essential requirement in a contract that if not performed, the agreement is considered failed. If, say, you inspect a car in a bazaar and order it but the seller delivers it with essential parts missing, then you can reject it for breach of condition. A warranty is a minor term, which may lead to payment of damages to the seller but not the rejection of assets or contract.

Interpretation of conditions and warranties, however, mostly lies with the courts as what a buyer may regard a condition may be a warranty and vice versa. For instance, a buyer who orders a car with leather seats but receives one without them may reject them for breach of condition but the seller may see it as a warranty. A retailer who refuses to replace a faulty property can be sued for breach of warranty.

The law assumes that people buying property follow the implied conditions, which imply the seller has a right to sell and the description corresponds with the asset. Property that is sold by sample generates an implied condition that the bulk shall correspond with the sample.

Courts, however, usually draw the line between conditions and warranties depending on the interpretations or misinterpretations of the buyers and/or sellers.

The writer is a lawyer and journalist.