Veronica wants to arrange for her dog, Felix, to be professionally photographed as a

birthday present for her husband. She visits the website of a company called ‘Pawtraits’.
There is a box on its homepage which asks her to tick “I agree” to confirm that she has
read their terms and conditions. She ticks the box without reading the text and arranges
for Pawtraits’ photographer, Angela, to come to her house to shoot the photo. During the
phot shoot, Angela’s tripod tips over, smashing Veronica’s glass table, worth £500, to
pieces. Felix gets glass in his paw and needs veterinary treatment costing £400. Veronica
later receives an invoice demanding £200 more than the amount she had originally agreed
for the photography service. Pawtraits inform Veronica that this is due to a rise in the price
of photographic materials. When Veronica looks at the terms and conditions of her
contract with Pawtraits she notices the following terms:
(a) Pawtraits limit their liability for any damage whatsoever and howsoever caused to
£150;
(b) Pawtraits may increase the cost of the service if a rise in market prices make this
necessary. Advise Veronica.

Tony requires a tutoring service for his two children during a period of home schooling. He
telephones the tutoring company, Easy Learning, to discuss the services they can provide.
Easy Learning tell him that they can provide five hours of tuition for £150 per day. Easy
Learning tell Tony to read the terms and conditions on the website and make the booking
online. When Tony attempts to access the website, however, a message informs him that the
website is being updated and the terms and conditions are not available. Nevertheless, he
presses the ‘I accept’ button on the website and books an Easy Learning tutor for a period
totalling 20 days. Easy Learning send their tutor, Xavier, to Tony’s house. Unfortunately,
Xavier accidentally spills coffee on Tony’s new laptop and Tony has to purchase another
one costing him £700. On the last day of tutoring, Tony forgets to return the textbooks that
Easy Learning had loaned to his children. He sends them by post and they arrive five days
later. Easy Learning demand that he pay them £250 for the late return in accordance with
their terms and conditions. When Tony checks their website, he is now able to read the
following terms:
a) Easy Learning limit their liability for any damage whatsoever and howsoever caused;
b) there is a charge of £50 per day for the late return of any books.
Advise Tony.

Polly runs her own business offering financial advice services and needs to hire some
flexible office space in central London in which she can meet with her wealthy London
clients. She searches online and finds a company called Instant Offices Ltd which offers
luxury meeting rooms for hourly rental periods. She decides to go ahead and book a three-
hour rental period for the next day through their online booking form. A box appears
which asks her to tick “I agree’” to confirm she has read their standard terms and
conditions. She ticks the box but does not read the text and goes on to complete the
booking. When Polly arrives at Instant Offices the next day, she finds that the meeting
room is unavailable due to the decision by Instant Offices to undertake refurbishments.
Polly has to cancel her meetings with three of her clients who become so angry that they
transfer their financial business elsewhere. Polly loses £100,000 of business as a result.
Polly contacts Instant Offices who point to a term in their contract stating, “Instant Offices
exclude their liability for all losses resulting from the failure to provide office space at the
agreed time”. Advise Polly.
How, if at all, would your answer differ if Polly had booked the office space to meet with
her husband to discuss the details of their divorce?

Cento runs a company (CENCO) that supplies coffee makers to businesses and private
customers. Li needs to replace one of her existing machines at her coffee shop. Li
telephones Cento and then Cento sends her an order form with details of the proposed
machine and price for Li to sign and return if she wants to proceed. Printed in large bold
print at the foot of the form is the following:
CUSTOMER NOTICE – IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ: (1) Unless Cenco is notified to
the contrary by you in writing within TWO days of delivery, all goods shall conclusively be
deemed to be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. (2) In any event, Cenco’s liability
to you for breach of any term, stipulation or condition, express or implied, shall not exceed
£500 or the contract price, whichever is the lesser amount. (3) In any event Cenco shall not
be liable for any personal injury caused by defective goods they supply. (4) If you are
interested in our extended peace of mind warranty with comprehensive insurance cover,
please contact us for a quote.
Li decides to place an order with Cenco because it is the cheapest price she can find. Li
signs and returns the order form with a cheque for the price of £5,000.
On 1st June, Devi comes into Cento’s shop. Devi agrees to buy a machine costing £500 for
her house. Cento agrees to deliver it to Devi’s home later that afternoon. After Devi has
paid, Cento fills out the details of the sale on an order form containing the same Customer
Notice.
Devi takes the order form without reading it. Cento delivers Devi’s machine to her home
and Li’s machine to her coffee shop. On 15th June, Li telephones Cento to say that the new
machine has a leak and then stopped working. The leak was discovered when boiling water
squirted out and caused Li a serious burn. It turns out that the machine has a defective
casing which will cost £2,000 to replace. Later the same day, Devi telephones Cento to say
that her coffee machine is not working. It has a defective valve which will cost £80 to
replace.
Advise Cento what liability, if any, Cenco may have to Li and Devi for breach of contract.