Need some urgent contract advice please

[GirlPolo]

I've signed a contract with one business and now I've received another - much better - offer from another one so I want to go with them. The first business has not signed the contract yet so my questions are:

• is it binding?
• do I get the 7 day cooling off period? It was sent via email on Friday.

TIA

It depend on what the contract is for and how it was entered into. Eg. there are compulsory cooling off periods for certain things such as building/decorating work.

They do not have to have signed though.

It’s a publisher - I want to go with a new deal that has been offered

also - they wanted to alter the contract slightly - discussed via email - so the inference is that a new one would be sent

Hmm, that is trickier. Cooling off periods usually only apply to consumer contracts, not professional.

If they want to alter the terms then you can tell them that you do not agree to the new terms and it would potentially be up to them whether the original contracts stands or whether you walk away. Does the contract say anything about cancellation rights?

Does the contract say anything about only being valid when signed by both parties?

ALso how do you know they havn't signed it if it was sent by email or was it via Docusign?

Clause 11 applies

No it was via email. The service they offered was publishing for a fee and because I wasn’t going to pay it upfront they said they were going to change the contract to reflect this.

They said they wouldn’t sign until the fee was paid or an arrangement was in place for it being paid

I think you need proper legal advice, if they are waiting for a response from you to finalise the contract it might be sufficient to just tell them you have decided against it, but the devil may be in the detail. You could try saying that and see how they respond, it might be a 'sorry we couldn't agree terms' or a 'you will hear from our solicitor', how litigious is the publishing world?

Which was provisionally agreed via email

Well in that case it sounds like this form of contract (with fee) has been withdrawn by them and they are intending to send you a new one amended to reflect a different fee payment . So no binding contract currently.

And even if the contract is binding, it looks like you can terminate at will, albeit you have to recoup them for amounts invested in The Works. Presumably they can’t have invested anything yet (no marketing, time spent editing, print runs etc?)

I think you should be fairly safe saying thanks but in the end you’ve decided against it.

Hang on just saw this. So you had got to an agreement re the fee? But they hadn’t sent you an amended contract to reflect that?

Edited: apologies, I responded to your OP which seemed to be related to an employment offer.

You need proper legal advice rather than advice from internet randoms who haven't seen the full contract and may not understand contract law. Consult a solicitor.

Yes, that’s correct

Please don’t accept a “publish for a fee” deal. These places do nothing to market your work and the covers/editing they provide is almost always poor. I hope your other offer is a proper publisher who pays you royalties, you should never pay a legit publisher. Look at the ALLI website for help with legal advisors when it comes to publishing. Just what you uploaded in your photo makes that contract look shonky as all fuck. Please don’t waste your money on these people.

How is OP replying not as the OP or is my phone broke?

This happens when someone name changes but then forgets and replies as their usual name.

She must have 2 accounts. It's no longer possible to name change mid-thread.

Somehow I managed to swap between names - had a telling off from MNHQ for having two accounts 😂

No, this is the contract I’m rejecting, not the one I’m going to go with.

Yes the new one pays royalties, etc. It’s a traditional contract.