Damages for businesses in Braintree and throughout the UK is important where commercial business relationships breakdown but the reality is that whilst most people think they know what ‘damages’ are they do not really know what they consist of.
By way of illustration, the general principle applicable to awards of damages for breach of contract is that the buyer should be put in the position that they would have occupied if the contract had been performed subject to the rules on both remoteness and mitigation.
However, there is also a need to account for other factors including ‘diminution in value’ and ‘Repair Damages’. This is because it has also been recognised that a consumer may only be entitled to the difference between what the goods in question were worth when they were delivered and what they would have been worth if they had conformed to the contract in some cases (Section 53 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979). Moreover, in some cases the buyer is actually entitled to claim the costs of having the aforementioned goods repaired by someone else which is quite different from the new repair remedy that now exists against the seller which means the buyer can require the seller to carry out any necessary free of charge (that will be discussed in my next blog post).
In this particular post we are talking about a situation where the consumer has had the repair done elsewhere and is claiming the cost in damages from the seller. The consumer may have had the repair done elsewhere because they did not trust the seller to do it properly; because the seller was not available (as the situation was an emergency); because the seller has not done the repair properly and the consumer has chosen to try again to have the goods repaired rather than seeking price reduction or recission; or because it was impossible or disproportionate for the seller to do the repair, and again the consumer has chosen to try again to have the goods repaired rather than seeking price reduction or recission.
There is also the possibility to claim for damages for a replacement in the event that the goods are rejected. Here a consumer is normally entitled to the difference between the contract price and the market price at the time of delivery (section 51(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979), or at the time when the buyer legitimately rejects them to then allow the buyer to go into the market to buy a replacement. As with damages for repair, this is quite different from the replacement remedy that now exists against the seller where the consumer asks the seller themselves to provide a replacement. Just as the consumer may choose not to ask the seller to repair the goods (or may not be entitled to repair based on the possibility or proportionality rules), the same may apply in the context of replacement. This is because the consumer may then have the goods replaced by another trader and claim the cost in damages from the seller.
Finally, for the purpose of this post, consumers can also claim for any consequential losses such as for injury, damages to property, temporary replacements, inconvenience, distress and minor expenses.
Contact Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services today via www.andrewdouglaswills.co.uk to see how we could help you have a better understanding of damages for businesses in Braintree and throughout the rest of Essex.
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