Electronic Emails and there FlawsEmailing and the dreaded pitfalls

In today’s world email offers a quick and easy method of communication between people and businesses, and is pretty much used by most companies and organisations worldwide. It however is important to realise that what may appear to be an informal method of communication between both parties, may accidentally enter a business or person into a legally binding contractual arrangement. There has been reported of many thousand cases in England of confirmed contracts entered into via email.

Contracts are the real heart of any company, from employment contracts to supplier contracts. An email of the legal relationship, their obligations and anything relevant between businesses or people does not always have to be in writing on paper, but an email can be sufficient, as does a verbal agreement.

An Electronic Signature

Since the start of the Electronic Communications Act which was formed back in the year 2000, an electronic signature has been admissible as evidence if it is incorporated into or it is logically associated with an electronic communication.

Texting, Facebook and Twitter to

Technically speaking  there is no reason why contracts cannot be formed using your mobile phone in the form of a text message, or even by using a social network like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Stumbleupon. Especially where social media is used for messaging between parties. There is likely to be a case law on this in the not so distant future as social media is becoming a crucial part of setting up a business, and the vaste majority of new and old businesses are using social media in some capacity.