Customer hand writes changes to contract

[BRIMOW525]

I sent a contract to a large gas station company and put a due date on it. It was April 11. I got the contract faxed back to me signed April 25. They were a customer last year so no big deal. Well I didn't look at the contract untill my wife called me cussin' about it. Who ever signed it crossed out that the lawn was to be maintained every 7 days to 10 days.(hand written) And after my clause for finance charges he put in big marker letters "unless work is disputed". The disputed thing I can kinda live with but the every 10 day cut I cannot. This is exactly why in the first place I put every 7 days. I don't want to bush hog every time I go in there and cut. So I'm thinking about calling and tell them the contract is void because of hand written amendments to the contract that we were neither notified of nor asked about, send them a new contract (same as before) and if they sign then fine if not, OH WELL. I just can't believe that they would call and say its signed and never mention that they wanted something changed or had questions. I guess this is how big businesses bully little guys.

[Bob Minney]

How does your contract work?
Mine is set up to have the customer sign off on our terms, that have been verbally communicated and accepted, then we sign and send confirmation.
If I had a customer starting out as you posted, I'd drop them today.

[Gravely_Man]

A contract is all about protecting Both PARTIES and not just you. You need to call and or go by and talk with them and work out changes to the contract that you both can live with.

Gravely_Man

[hboyd_com]

It's standard procedure to make hand written changes and initial the change. You may be at fault for not looking at it when he sent it back.... sorry. It sucks and I understand your position and agree however there is nothing wrong with making hand written changes.

[stslawncare]

i agree there is nothing wrong with making hand written changes but not by the customer, unless it was discussed with you. you are the boss its your contract, this customer sounds like nothing but trouble. like you said why didnt they contact with you about the problems?

[hboyd_com]

Hand written changes by the customer is standard practice, however usually the owner of the contract is supposed to initial the changes as well as a way to document the acceptance of the change. He didn't initial the changes, but only because he didn't look at the fax that was sent to him. Hand written changes are easy to spot if you take to time to look at the document. Unfortunately, he assumed (I assume!) that there were on changes and didn't bother to look at it. We should all learn something from that mistake.

Legally he may be OK because he didn't "accept" the changes, however is it worth legal costs and losing the customer? Maybe it's easier to simply drop the customer.

[Green Pastures]

Call them, calmly explain your position, come to an agreement and draw up a new contract. I would not keep a contract on file with crossed out words in it.

[BRL]

Hand written changes can be made by either party. They have to be initialed by both parties for the changes to become binding to the contract. So if you haven't initialed the changes yet, they are not official yet. I would do just as you said you were planning. Send back the original contract explaining that you can not accept the 10 day terms & why. If they want you they can sign, if not, find another customer to fill that void in your schedule. As far as the disputed invoices part goes, get the clause that says contractor has x amount of days to fix any problems the client brings to their attention etc. etc. from any of the many sample contracts out & about the internet. Then they can't "dispute" every invoice and leave you hanging out to dry all the time.

[greenman]

I have an Amendment that states that any modifications or amendments in written form must be signed by both parties.

[darryl gesner]

I used to work with a subcontractor that never signed their contract until they received it back from the customer. That way if they later found and error or changed their mind about wanting the work, they weren't bound by it.

[mowngrow]

mine are the same as greenmans

[realtor]

Hand written changes to your contract and delivered back to you…
That’s called a counter proposal.
It’s not a contract until you accept their offer.
It can get sticky but they can enter into an agreement with another LC prior to your acceptance (notice of acceptance of their offer delivered back to them) by a communication to you retracting their proposal.
As stated above, you can deliver a counter proposal to their counter proposal. (Your original offer with a written explanation attached.) Don’t forget expiration date.

Some useful info:
Verbal contracts are legal but not enforceable in a court of law.
Time is of the essence.


Realtor

[cos]

Unless disputed? That's an easy out.

[LawnGuy73]

I agree with green...

[1rhino]

With my contracts if they change them I drop them. At the end of all contract says: HHLC reserves the right to make all decisions in regard to this contract., just above the signature line.

[tiedeman]

ya, you need to stop in or call them up and clear up the whole contract situation. If he refuses to change things but to how they are supposed to be, then you should just refuse to take care of the property.

[Jusmowin]

I would not agree with the 10 day cutting thing and would also have a BIG problem with unless disputed thing. When people do things like that my PITA flag goes up, and at this point in my life I just have no time for people like that!!

[mowerman90]

Last year I submitted a contract to a local blood bank. I met with the manager, went over what I would like to do to the property, negotiated a fair price, and signed and received a signed copy of the contract. Before the first scheduled cut I receive a call from their corporate office stating that they did not like the "late fee clause" and wanted it changed. I agreed, because the payment did have to come from out of state and there was the possibility that because of that it might become delayed. My counter proposal reworded the late fee clause to their liking but I then raised my price by a small amount to compensate for this . Man, the doo-doo hit the fan when corporate saw the increase in price. The corporate negotiator whined over the phone that it was unfair. I told him in no uncertain terms that 30 day terms were good enough for everyone else I worked for and no one had any trouble mailing my check within that alloted time. I told him that he should start processing it sooner if they didn't think they could get it out in time or simply pay the higher price that I had countered with. I told him that if I had to wait longer for my money, that I wasn't a bank, and that he had to pay for that privilege. I could of held them to the original signed contract but I didn't really need the work and "could see the writing on the walls". So I decided not to work for them. This is one of the many reasons I concentrate my business on residential customers.