Excuse me, I'm drunk!

Ok, not the most surprising thing you’ve ever heard me say, and as a tongue-in-cheek reason to my team as to why I’m not taking calls beyond a certain time (don’t bother trying to contact me after 4pm, I’ll be too hammered to answer) it’s perfectly reasonable.?Some might say it’s even sensible.?

But I've seen an ever-increasing number of automated footnotes on emails sent from mobile phones, saying that the sender is using their iPhone or similar, and apologies for any typos as a result.?

Does that mean that if they said something that they later regretted, they could resile from it??

Possibly, but it does highlight the danger of sending (and accepting) important communications by iPhone.?

Let’s say, for example, that Company A and Company B are having an email exchange about something fairly routine like a delivery.? Perhaps wine (or even better, champagne!) for a restaurant.?A says how soon can you deliver it, as we’re very low on stock??B says by 2 September.?A says “Great, I’ll send the money now” and duly pays.?

A little while later it comes to light that B meant 22 September and the date was a typo.?The email footer apologises for typos but does that mean they are still bound by the original delivery date of 2 September and what (if any) are the penalties for the stock arriving after that date.?Other than the fact that I’d be very upset and extremely thirsty!?

As is often the case, my answer would be “it depends".?There are so many other factors to take into account, such as whether there was an existing course of dealing between the parties.?Were there any other exchanges between the parties (e.g. an email from A saying we’ve sent the money, and look forward to receiving the goods by 2 September) and/or was there an existing course of dealing between them (such as A already being on notice that normal delivery time is usually at least a few weeks).?

In addition, if A was going to make a claim, they’d have to show that they had suffered a loss by the late delivery.?If they can source a reasonable alternative for a similar amount, they probably haven’t suffered much loss.?Often the aggrieved party forget that they have a duty to mitigate their losses.?They can’t just sit back and do nothing.?

There is nothing wrong with doing deals by phone, text, WhatsApp, email, smoke signal or any other form of communication that both parties can read. However, no matter what form you use, if particular terms are important to you, make sure you check your wording carefully before you say or send anything, and then confirm it in a different format just to be safe.?You should keep clear records of everything that happens.?It may take a bit longer, but it could save you a lot of time and money in the long run.?

Kleyman & Co solicitors.?The full-service law firm.?Written whilst on my second bottle of pink champagne - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!