TIL "Loss of a bargain"

[Matty]

Absolutely no idea this was a thing, maybe @Jobbo can offer a lawyery insight. It's an old thread, but a more recent similar one on PH pointed me at it.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/top ... &t=1826988

Essentially, bloke has 2 people interested in his TVR. Bit of back and forth (see thread) but ultimately Buyer A takes him to small claims for "Loss of a bargain" which I never even knew was a thing.

Final ruling is here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/top ... 6988&i=300

TL;DR, 2 years later, Buyer A wins the case, "seller" is £4k out of pocket overall as it's ruled "Loss of a bargain". What amazes me more than anything about this whole thing (other than he won), is what kind of mentalist raises a civil case over a £26k TVR, then spends 2 years going through the process? Hardly a one-off Supercar.

So be careful who you agree sales with over Whatsapp if you're planning to sell to someone else

[Jobbo]

Loss of bargain is a form of damages for breach of contract. What intrigues me there is that the judge decided there was a contract when one element (the consideration passing) seems to be missing, though I wouldn’t be as falsely confident as his expensive solicitors who charged £3000 and said they’d be able to get costs in a small claim

Taking 2 years to go through the process isn’t normal - he does say it was down to delays in COVID. And raising a small claim over £2000 isn’t particularly abnormal, though he only won £1000, being the difference in price between what he agreed to sell to A for and what he actually sold to B for.

A small claims court judgment isn’t binding precedent but the law is fairly clear on this anyway. They key take-away is to say to any buyer that negotiations are subject to contract until they’ve paid a deposit or the price in full.