QUESTION
Can text message(s) negate a proposal =>contract term (nonrefundable deposit); paid, project cancelled; txt to refund unearned deposit; never refunded
Asked on Aug 09th, 2017 on Breach of Contract - Ohio
More details to this question:
Quote/proposal for exterior home painting, requiring deposit last fall; project not completed last fall would receive a project discount this spring. Contractor unable to meet pre-painting in Spring to go over scope and colors; I (homeowner) verbally cancelled project and requested unearned deposit returned. Contractor text message saying he would refund $320 unearned of $500 deposit ($180 kept for power washing per pricing) within 30 days. Follow-up on refund, via numerous txt messages, wherein Contractor reneged on $320; texted none; later texted $160 (half). I am troubled; filed with BBB and Angie's List; BBB unable to resolve and now offers Arbitration as next step. Can Txt message(s) to refund $320 of a deposit negate notation on quote/contract, that deposits are nonrefundable?
1 ANSWER
It appears that these were offers to settle a dispute. If you accepted them, they could have created a binding contract which superceded the terms of the original contract, but if you did not accept them before they were revoked, they are not binding.
The above depends on the exact terms of your original contract, which could contain a provision providing, for example, that its terms could only be modified by a writing signed by both parties and notarized. This would not bar a claim that the offers were accepted and became enforceable (because the signing provision could have been waived) but would make it more difficult to argue that position.
Answered on Aug 09th, 2017 at 1:35 PM