Business-to-business transactions occur every day. You might rely on other businesses to provide you with contract services, like human resources help when you hire a new employee or payroll support. You may have contracts with companies that supply you with equipment or with raw materials for products made at your factory or dishes served at your restaurant.
Business-to-business transactions allow companies to continue providing the public with valuable goods and services. If one of the businesses that your company contract with has failed to follow through in their obligations, their breach of contract could have play profoundly negative impact on your company. How can you resolve a contract dispute?
Go back over the contract
The most important step in resolving the disagreement about your business arrangements is to verify the actual terms set in your contract. The longer it has been since signing the agreement, the greater the chance that you have forgotten the details or conflated the terms of the contract with a different agreement. You could do real damage to your relationship with a vendor or a service provider by making accusations before you actually know that they failed to uphold the contract.
Ask the other party to make things right
Once you have reviewed your contract and know for certain that the other party failed to do their part, you can ask them to correct the issue. Sending a casual email reminding them of the terms of the contract and asking when you can expect that may resolve the issue might be all that it takes.
Sometimes, people will ignore informal communication or will not agree to correct the issue. They might also make promises that they don't follow through on any more than they did the original contract. If informal communication does not achieve your goal, sending them a formal notice of the breach of contract might motivate them to finally correct the issue.
File the paperwork to get court assistance
The final step in the process of resolving a contract dispute may be filing a breach of contract lawsuit in the civil courts. A judge can review the contract and your evidence, possibly resulting in them awarding you damages or ordering the other party to follow through with their obligations.
Your decision to file a civil lawsuit could also put enough pressure on the other party to get them to agree to resolve the issue or to negotiate a settlement outside of court. Ignoring a breach of contract will leave your company at a disadvantage, but taking action can help you resolve the issue and minimize the losses your company suffers.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
