From a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘smiley face’, emoji’s have become part of how we communicate online.
And interestingly, a Court in Canada recently decided that sending a ‘thumbs up’ emoji was enough for a person to have accepted the terms of a contract.
Now, before you start scrolling back through your messages to make sure you haven’t signed up to something you didn’t expect, here a few quick facts on the background of the case:
- A company selling grain had contact a farmer wanting to sell their product.
- After a few phone calls back and forth, the grain company prepared a contract, signed it and sent it to the farmer over text message asking him to confirm the contract.
- The farmer sent back a ‘thumbs up’ emoji.
Like with every legal case, it always comes down to the specific circumstances of each case. What was said, what documents, emails or text messages support each parties claims.
A case like this is always bound to get the attention of news outlets because it’s quite a catchy story but in reality it doesn’t really change much, at least here in Australia anyway.
When an agreement becomes ‘legal’ always depends on two key things – was there an offer? and was there acceptance of the offer?
And this just happens to be one of the most common questions I get asked, “do my terms and conditions need to be signed for them to be binding?”
The short answer, as always is, “it depends” but signing terms and conditions definitely isn’t the only way to have a client accept your terms and conditions.
If you’re making an offer to a prospective client, whether you offer an online membership, 1:1 coaching, or in-person services, your offer is not just what you’re selling but the terms and conditions that go with it.
It’s important that your client knows all of the terms of your offer before they make a commitment to pay.
So while you still need to be clear if your terms and conditions need to be signed or a “tick the box” is also a way of accepting them, the key is making sure they know what they are before they make the decision to work with you.
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can watch a video where I answer this question and talk about how your terms and conditions can be accepted by your clients https://cardillolaw.com.au/do-my-terms-and-conditions-still-apply-if-theyre-not-signed/
