202 Chapter 7The Sale of Goods Act 1979
the buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods to see that they conform
to the contract. For example, when goods are delivered, buyers often sign a delivery note
saying that the goods are in perfect condition and that they are accepted. Signing such a
note cannot amount to acceptance until the buyer has had a chance to examine the goods to
see if they conform with the contract.
Truk (UK) Ltd vTokmakidis GmbH (2000)held that where the seller knows that the
buyer is going to resell the goods a reasonable time would usually be the time expected to
be needed to resell the goods, plus an additional time in which the sub-buyer might inspect
the goods and try them out. Clegg vAndersson (2003)held that time taken by a buyer
requesting and agreeing to repairs to complex goods, and time taken for those repairs to be
carried out, should not be counted.
In Chapter 3 it was seen that s. 15A provides that a buyer who does not deal as a
consumer cannot reject the goods on account of a breach of ss. 13, 14 or 15 if the breach is
so slight as to make rejection unreasonable. Figure 7.6 gives an overview of how the buyer’s
right to reject for breach of a condition can be lost.Partial rejection
If goods are delivered to the buyer and some of the goods conform to the contract whilst
others do not, s. 35A gives the buyer three options:
(i) The buyer can reject all of the goods and sue the seller for non-delivery.
(ii) The buyer can accept only the goods which do conform to the contract. The goods
which do not conform to the contract can be rejected and the seller can be sued for
non-delivery in respect of these goods.Figure 7.6 The buyer’s right to reject