Keenan and Riches’BUSINESS LAW

of a service also involves the transfer of goods (e.g.
installing central heating or repairing a car). The Act
does not apply to contracts of service (employment) or
apprenticeship. The terms implied into a contract for
services by this part of the Act are as follows.

Care and skill (s 13)

Section 13 provides that where the supplier is acting in
the course of a business there is an implied term that the
supplier will carry out the service with reasonable care
and skill. So, if you take your raincoat to be dry-cleaned
and it is returned with a large tear in the fabric, clearly
the cleaning process will not have been carried out with
reasonable care and skill. The duty to exercise reason-
able care and skill was considered in the following case.

have to be ordered, possibly a couple of weeks for the

repairs to be completed. If the car is still in the garage six

months later, the repairer will be in breach of s 14.

Consideration (s 15)

Section 15 provides that where the consideration can-

not be determined from the contract or by a course of

dealing between the parties, there is an implied term

that the customer will pay a reasonable charge for the

service. If you call a plumber out to mend a burst pipe

and no reference is made to his charges, he is entitled to

a reasonable amount for his services on completion of

the job.

You should note the following points about Part II of

the Act:

1 Sections 13–15 imply ‘terms’ into contracts for ser-

vices.This means that the remedy available to the injured

party will depend on the circumstances of the breach. If

the breach goes to the root of the contract, it will be

treated as a breach of a condition and the customer can

repudiate the contract and claim damages – where the

breach is slight, it will be regarded as a breach of a war-

ranty and the customer can recover damages only.

2 The Secretary of State has the power to exempt

certain contracts for services from one or more of

the sections in Part II.An order has been made, for

example, excluding s 13 from applying to:

■the services of an advocate in a court or tribunal, e.g.

a solicitor appearing in a magistrates’ court; and

■the services of a company director.

3 Under s 16 the rights, duties and liabilities imposed

by ss 13–15 may be excluded or limited subject to the

provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.The

implied term contained in s 13 (care and skill) is, there-

fore, subject to s 2 of the 1977 Act, while the implied

terms in ss 14 and 15 (time for performance and con-

sideration) seem to be covered by s 3 of the 1977 Act.

Manufacturer’s liability in contract

Generally

So far in this chapter we have examined the rights and

responsibilities of the parties to a contract, concentrating

Part 3Business transactions

324

Wilsonv Best Travel Ltd(1993)

The claimant sustained serious injuries when he tripped

and fell through glass patio doors at the Greek hotel he

was staying in while on a package holiday organised by

the defendant tour operator. The doors had been fitted

with 5mm glass which complied with Greek, but not

British, safety standards. The claimant sought damages

against the defendant, arguing that the defendant was in

breach of the duty of care which arose from s 13 of the

Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. It was held that

the defendant tour operator was not liable: its liability

was to check that local safety standards had been com-

plied with, provided that the absence of a safety feature

was not such that a reasonable holidaymaker would

decline to take a holiday at the hotel. A tour operator

might be in breach of duty if, for example, it used a hotel

where there were no fire precautions at all. In this case,

the doors met Greek safety standards and the absence

of thicker safety glass in doors was unlikely to cause the

claimant to decline the holiday.

Time for performance (s 14)

Under s 14, where the supplier is acting in the course
of a business and the time for performance cannot be
determined from the contract or ascertained by a course
of dealing between the parties, there is an implied term
that the supplier will carry out the service within a rea-
sonable time. What is a reasonable time is a matter of
fact. If you take your car into a garage for minor repairs,
it is reasonable to allow a few days and, if spare parts