A contract is a voluntary and binding agreement between two or more persons or parties that is intended to be enforceable by law.
Be even more cautious and aware of the principles in making a contract to avoid troubles to occur later on.
1. The objective of contract should be clearly specified.
2. Name and address of the parties must be accurately provided.
3. The parties must be persons who can make a contract according to the law. In the case of a minor, he or she must have consent from a guardian. Also, a married person needs an agreement from his or her spouse before making a contract.
4. A contract form must be lawful.
5. Damages must be specified for the breach of contract.
6. It must indicate the party who is responsible for any tax fee.
7. Both parties must be present when signing the contract.
8. There should be witnesses, and their signatures affixed.
The Office of the Consumer Protection Board is commonly receiving complaints from many consumers who are unfairly treated in terms of making a contract with a business entity. This is primarily because a business entity generally has prepared a ready-made contract, containing unfair contract terms.
In order to support the customer protection in contract exploitation, “the right to receive a fair contract” is added in the Consumer Protection Act (2nd amendment), B.E. 2541 (1998). Furthermore, some businesses are declared a controlled business with respect to contracts as follows:
There shall be contract terms that provide rights to the consumer against exploitation by the business entity. This includes the right to terminate the contract at any time, the right to temporarily suspend the use of credit card by giving a notice by a phone call without any responsibility for debts occurring after the notice, etc.
There shall be contract terms that protect the consumer from exploitation; such as the consumer has the right to request for the record of services in the case of retroactive checks for unusual service charges.
There shall be a contract that emphasizes the interest rate, change of interest rate, penalty fee of breaking a contract, and a guarantee. The consumers have the right to receive related information in detail.
There shall be a contract that emphasizes the rights that the consumers deserve. This must contain the full amount of payment the purchaser must make, the completion of hire-purchase registration within 30 days since the hire-purchasing business entity received the document of a hire-purchaser, and a discount of interest granted for a consumer intending to complete the installments in one payment.
There shall be a contract that emphasizes the rights the consumers deserve. This must contain the termination of contract by the business entity giving written notice no less than 30 days to a hire-purchaser or a discount provided for a hire-purchaser intending to complete the installment in one payment, etc.
There shall be a contract that emphasizes the business entity’s confirmation on the time of finishing construction and its registration. If a business entity therefore cannot finish the construction, they must return all payments already made by the consumer with interest.
Any business entity who does not deliver a contract in which there are contractual clauses, or contractual clauses with a right form of contract, or which does not issue a receipt of payment stating correct details and statements to a consumer within a determined period of time, shall face imprisonment for not more than 1 year or pay a fine from 500 to 10,000 Baht, or both.
If you think there is an unfair treatment in making a contract, you can contact the Office of the Consumer Protection Board on their Hotline 1166. You may also go to the Sub-Committee on Provincial Consumer Protection at all City Halls and District Offices nationwide.
Reference: Office of the Consumer Protection Board
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