Example

Mr Barton: “I performed a service for Foxpace Limited, by introducing it to a buyer who ultimately bought a property that Foxpace owned and was keen to sell. The buyer, Western UK (Acton) Limited, paid Foxpace £6 million for the property but I was not paid my £1.2 million finder’s fee!”

The above is a take on the case of Barton and others v Morris and another in place of Gwyn Jones (deceased).

In the Barton case, the Judge had to consider whether Mr Barton could establish a legal entitlement to be paid.

There are, broadly, 2 ways in which an entitlement to payment may be shown.

➡ The first way is to examine the contractual relationship and whether its terms can be evidenced.

➡ The second way is that if no contract can be established will the defendant will be unjustly enriched at your expense.

In Mr Barton’s case, when the court first considered it was of the view that he was not entitled to any payment. The court did find that there was an oral agreement, but it said that it made no provision for what would happen if the property was sold for less than the agreed price, £6.5 million. The court also would not consider Mr Barton’s claim for unjust enrichment because it decided that such a claim would undermine the oral agreement’s terms.

You can see how important it is to clearly set out the terms upon which you offer your services before you start working for a customer.

If you have provided your services to a customer who has not paid you, we can help you to establish whether you have an entitlement to be paid and if so, we can also support you getting paid.

If you would like to be paid quicker, your takeaway should be to ensure that you always provide your customers with your terms of business, at the very least. If you offer a bespoke service, then it may be worth you also signing a specific contract with each client too.

If you would like help getting paid, we can help you, call us or send us a message and we will call you for a no obligation chat.