The recent High Court case of Spreadex Limited v Colin Cochrane
[2012] (click here) is a stark reminder to online
traders, and indeed to other businesses, to exercise caution when
imposing liability on consumers in contracts.
The High Court held that a clause in the terms and conditions of
bookmaker Spreadex's website, pursuant to which the consumer
was deemed to have authorised all trade under his account without
limitation or exception, was not binding on the consumer. The
judge held that as the bookmaker had not given any consideration in
return for the consumer entering the terms and conditions, there
was no contract between the consumer and Spreadex. In any
event, the judge held that it was an unfair term under the Unfair
Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. For more
details
click here.
The High Court held that a clause in the terms and conditions of bookmaker Spreadex's website, pursuant to which the consumer was deemed to have authorised all trade under his account without limitation or exception, was not binding on the consumer.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 20/06/2012.