It Seemed Almost Too Good to Be True

question 22

Essay

It seemed almost too good to be true.Because he was about to start university, Delroy was desperate to buy a laptop computer.And because money was tight, he was also hoping to spend as little as possible.Those two factors came together when Delroy entered into the website that Personal Solutions Computers (PSC) uses for online contracts.The laptop that interested Delroy usually sold for around $2000, but the website gave a "time limited special offer" price of $150. Delroy immediately submitted a purchase order and clicked on a button that said "I Agree to Be Bound By the Terms of This Agreement."
A few minutes later, he received an "Order Confirmation" email that referred to the laptop and the price of $150.Later the same day, however, Delroy received a second email from PSc.That message said that the quoted price of $150 was the result of an employee's error.PSC actually intended to sell the laptop for $1500.The message also said that the terms of the contract, which were accessible by way of a hyperlink on the order page, included an exclusion clause for such errors.Delroy nevertheless insists that he is entitled to purchase the laptop for $150.He honestly had not noticed the hyperlink at the time of purchase and he certainly had not been aware of the exclusion clause.Will a court enforce the exclusion clause in PSC's favour? Explain how the courts decide which "hidden" terms are included within online contracts. Which considerations are relevant to that exercise?

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Definitions:

Return on Investment

A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment relative to its cost.

Expectations

The beliefs or forecasts about future events affecting economic decisions and behaviors.

Voice Activated Software

Software that is able to interpret and execute commands given through spoken words.

Expected Return

The anticipated profit or loss from an investment, considering all possible outcomes and their probabilities.