Subject for Study: Further Business Contacts and their Development. Contracts and their Fulfillment. Claims and Sanctions. (Развитие деловых контактов. Выполнение контрактов. Претензии и санкции)

Grammar: Conditional Clauses. Revision (Условные предложения. Повторение)

Упр.1 Прочитайте и запомните слова. Найдите предложения с данными словами в тексте и переведите их.

sufferer - пострадавшая сторона

cause - причина

default - неуплата

to penalize – штрафовать

a letter of claim - исковое заявление

to confirm - подтверждать

at one’s expense - за счет

proof - доказательство

short-delivery - недопоставка

to recompense - компенсировать

well-grounded - обоснованный

settlement - урегулирование

final and binding for both parties - окончательный и не подлежащий обжалованию

award - решение

to appeal - обращаться

infringement – нарушение, отклонение

The Causes of Claims.

In ideal business conditions everything should be done carefully – details of offers and orders checked, manufacture of the goods carried out properly, packing and marking verified.

If a party fails to meet its contract obligations the sufferer makes a claim on the party. The Seller most frequently makes claims on the Buyer because of the default of payment or because of the Buyer’s infringements of the terms of delivery. The Seller declines liability if the B/L is “clean” or if the goods are disorderly stored, mishandled or misused by the Buyer. More often it is the Buyer who makes a claim on the Seller. Letters of complaint happen to arrive rather frequently but as a rule a customer will not complain unless he has a good reason. The causes for complaint may be poor quality, breakage, damage, short weight, leakage, etc. The following kinds of claims are often made by Buyers:

- claims, arising from the delivery of wrong goods, damaged or substandard goods;

- claims connected with delays of one kind or another; in this case the Seller may be penalized, the rate of penalty is to be fixed in the Penalty Clause of the contract;

- claims owing to goods missing from delivery (short-shipment or short-delivery);

- claims that concern errors in carrying out an order. These may be caused by mis-typing of figures, misreading of numbers, misdirection of goods, wrong packing and so on.

The Buyer must write a statement of claim and mail it to the Seller together with the supporting documents, such as Bill of Lading, Airway and Railway bill, Survey Report, Quality Certificate which may serve as documentary evidence. If necessary, drawings, photos samples are enclosed as proofs of claims.

In case of damage or short-weight the goods are to be repaired or recompensed, all at the Seller’s expense. If the goods are missing or not recovered compensation must be paid by the responsible party. If the customer’s complaint is well-grounded, the settlement is comparatively easy: the error will be admitted and the responsible party will meet the claim fully or partly. In other words, the dissatisfied party will get full or partial compensation for the losses which they suffered. Thus, the matter is settled amicably.

Much more difficult is the case when the customer’s complaint is not justified. The claim can be declined then and the matter becomes disputable. Settling commercial disputes by arbitration is practiced if the parties in dispute can not reach mutual understanding. The award of the Arbitration Commission is final and binding upon both parties. It is not subject to appeal.

Упр. 2. Расскажите, что Вы узнали о:

1. the reasons for Buyers’ claims;

2. the amicable settlement of claims;

3. the best course of action in case of unjustified claims;

4. the reason for the Sellers’ claims.

Упр. 3. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту.

1. Why is it preferable to settle claims in an amicable way?

2. Why is it a wrong policy to reject an unjustified claim off-hand?

3. When does the dissatisfied party claim compensation?

Упр. 4. Вставьте артикли или притяжательные местоимения.

а)

1. The firm made a claim on us for $500 in connection with a delay in … delivery.

2. A letter of complaint concerning the delay in … delivery of the October shipment was sent to the shipping company.

3. We find your claim for the defects in …manufacture of … goods absolutely groundless.

4. Numerous defects in … manufacture frequently occur when a new process is introduced.

б)

Dear Sirs,

As you know, … letter of the 34^th November was acknowledged by … Moscow office. I believe that I should reply in detail to your letter.

Our company is most concerned that complaints are being received by you concerning delays in … delivery.

We informed you in October that… Model 1000 contains modified parts and components, which do not affect … performance of … machines.

We are aware of … need to maintain … especially high standard of … quality control over … machines sold to you and this is being done. I wish to stress again that … company is aware of … obligation to correct all … defects in accordance with …contractual obligations.

Упр. 5. Вставьте предлоги там, где это необходимо.

а)

1. You are aware … our difficulties.

2. Rosimport made a claim … the Sellers … the sum equivalent to the cost of repairs.

3. The Buyers made a complaint … some faults, which made the machines unsuitable for operation.

4. The Buyers found fault … the workmanship … the machines.

5. We reminded them … their default … payment last year.

6. They expected the subcontractors to compensate them … the storage expenses. 7. The award … the Foreign Trade Arbitration Commission … the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is final and binding … both parties.

б)

Dear Sirs,

You are probably aware … the fact that owing … the energy crisis, the British government has directed that industry shall be restricted to the tree working days only per week. As a result, our deliveries will be delayed.

We are extremely sorry to have to give you this news and we hope that you will not make a claim … us owing … a delay … delivery. In spite of all these difficulties, we will do everything possible to give you the service that you and we both desire.

Yours faithfully,

Упр. 6. Поставьте глагол в правильной форме.

1. Don’t complain until you (to make sure) of the defects.

2. We do not plan to speed up delivery unless we (to receive) their instructions.

3. We shall refer the matter to arbitration unless you (to send) replacements.

4. No penalty will be claimed if you (to agree) to speed up the delivery of the second consignment.

5. The invoice will not be paid unless they (to compensate) us for the losses suffered.

6. The visit will be postponed until the parties in dispute (to come) to an agreement.

Упр. 7. Прочитайте диалог и выполните последующие задания.

(Petrov, a representative of the Trade Delegation of Russia is discussing with Mr. Wales a problem connected with the order signed by Brown and Co and Rosimport.)

W. - Good morning, Mr. Petrov. Glad to see you.

16. - Good morning, Mr. Wales. I’d like to discuss your telephone message.

23. - Well, anything the matter?

P. - As you know, under our Order you were to deliver 1,000 pieces of item 2 D21 in the fourth quarter.

W. - That’s right.

P. - Moreover, during our November meeting you confirmed the original schedule and promised to meet the December deadline. But on the 15^th January you informed us that there was some difficulty and that we would probably receive the item only in late January.

W. - Yes, we reached understanding on that.

P. - You postponement already meant a month’s delay, but we took into account your unforseen complications then. And now you are informing us of a further delay.

W. - I can offer my apologies but the further delay cannot possibly exceed three weeks.

P. - Strictly speaking, we could have applied the penalty clause after your first delay.

W. - I can only hope that taking into account our long mutually satisfactory relations you would not claim agreed and liquidated damages from us.

P. - Unfortunately we cannot meet your request. Our clients are suffering heavy losses. We shall charge from you 5% of the value of the undelivered goods beginning from January 20.

23. - Well, if you insist, we’ll have to pay the penalty

Упр.8. Расскажите, что Вы узнали о:

- the changes in the delivery schedule;

- the position of the parties in respect of the penalty clause;

- the problem to be settled.

Упр. 9. Расскажите о Ваших переговорах с точки зрения каждого партнера.

Упр. 10. Дайте развернутый ответ на вопросы (письменно)

1. Do you think the complaint can be settled amicably? Give your reasons.

2. Who do you think is to blame for non-execution of the contract?

Упр. 11. Прочитайте еще один диалог. Какие вопросы являются главными при обсуждении? Поднимались ли эти вопросы в предыдущем диалоге?

W. - In our opinion your letter of complaint isn’t justified.

P. - I’m afraid we cannot agree with you here. I think I should refer you to the

delivery clause of our Contract. It says that delivery was to be made not later

than the end of September.

W. - Well, as a matter of fact, we passed the goods on to our forwarding agents at

1. the works on the 20^th September. I’ve brought a receipt with me signed by the

2. agents.

P. - According to the Contract it is the date of the Bill of Lading which is

considered to be the date of delivery, that is the 25^th of October. If it taken into

account we are entitled to claim compensation.

W. - What amount of compensation are you thinking of?

P. - We’ve calculated it on the basis of the provisions stipulated in the contract.

W. - Can I look through your calculations to get a better idea of the figures?

P. - Here are the documents. They show the exact sum of agreed and liquidated

damages.

W. - I think I may need some time to go into all this. If you don’t mind could we

come back to you with a proposal?

P. - Fine. But we’d appreciate it if you could speed up the decision on the matter.

W. - Of course. I’m sure it won’t take very long. Naturally, we too are anxious to reach a speedy and amicable settlement of this question.

Note: agreed and liquidated damages – заранее оговоренные и согласованные

убытки.

Упр. 12. Ответьте на вопросы

1. Do you think the parties would settle the matter without referring it to Arbitration?

1. Why do you think Mr. W’ s party was interested in the speedy settlement of the

problem ?

2. Why did Mr. W want to study the documents?

Упр. 13. Прочитайте другой диалог. Какой вопрос снова поднимается при обсуждении условий контракта? Какие новые вопросы необходимо обсудить?

P. - We’ve got to discuss another problem with the same unlucky machine TC-2.

W. - What’s wrong this time? We’ve just repaired the machine. All the traces of

the damage have been removed. Do you mean to say there is some payment

problem?

P. - No problem here. You’ll be duly paid by our insurance company. But now

we’ve got another headache.

W. - What’s troubling you?

P. - After our engineers examined and tested the machine repaired by you they

discovered that it had some defects for which the manufacturers are

responsible. We have a report of a qualified commission to prove it. Here it is.

We believe that you are obliged either to eliminate the defects or replace the

machine.

W. - Now I see the whole situation. First of all, I’d like to study the report of the

commission and refer it to the experts. I’ll give you our final reply in two days.

P. - Don’t feel too discouraged about it, Mr.Wilson. Things might have been even

worse. It’s a good thing that your packing had been found in conformity with

the requirements. Otherwise you would have had to pay for the repair of the

damage that occurred in transit as well.

W. - Yes, of course. You want to say, Mr. Petrov, that every cloud has a silver

lining. Well, see you again soon.

Упр. 14. Ответьте на вопросы

1. Why did Smirnov expect the insurance company to cover the expenses connected with the repair of the machine?

2. What action would the Sellers take if the findings of the commission were correct?

Упр. 15. Расскажите о проблемах выполнения обязательств от имени мистера Вильсона (Петрова)

Упр. 16. Дайте расширенные ответы на один из вопросов (письменно)

1. Why do claims frequently arise in business?

2. How are claims classified?

3. Who makes claims more often, the Buyer or the Seller?

4. What are the ways of handling justified claims?

5. How should a justified claim be documented?

6. Why do the parties in dispute resort to arbitration?

Ex.17. Read and translate the letters of complaint. Write out the sentences in which the claim matters are described. Сформулируйте причину жалоб одним или двумя предложениями.

Dear Sirs,

As you know, Holton & Son, Inc. Received two shipments from Rosimport, Saint-Petersburg, Russia on the s.s. “Thomas Jefferson”, when it last discharged in Wilmington, North Carolina in September. Two Russian technicians were sent to Holton to assist in assembling the equipment and to pit it into operation.

These men are thoroughly familiar with the equipment, and after inspection of the material received they determined that the equipment was five crates short.

All of this information was promptly passed to Amtorg Trading Corporation in New York who represents Rosimport in the importation of their machinery in the USA.

We have been unable to find any trace of the missing crates in any of the US ports of call of the s.s. “Thomas Jefferson”. We now have the continuing expense of maintaining the two Russian technicians and are losing valuable time.

It is our intention to insist that the missing parts be replaced by you and shipped to us via air freight, all for your account.

Yours faithfully,

Dear Sirs,

We received your consignment of toys this morning (our order No. 15060 refers). However, on examining we found that the electric trains packed on one side of case No. 3 were badly damaged, and are unsaleable. This case had obviously been struck by a heavy object or dropped, and we pointed this out to your local agents, who endorsed the receipt, “one case side damaged”.

No doubt you will take the matter up with shippers; however, for the present we should be obliged if you would send us 25 replacement trains, catalogue No. 3546d.

The surveyor’s report will be forwarded immediately it has been prepared.

Yours faithfully,

Упр. 18. Составьте письма на основе предлагаемой информации.

1. It / now/ almost /month/since /you agreed / install / the equipment / we / purchased / you /April. We regret / unless / the equipment /installed / two weeks / we obliged /report / Head Office. Please / treat /matter / urgent.

2. We / thank / order …/ which / attention. With regard / spare parts / we / regret

/owing /disruption / deliveries /not our fault / obliged /suspend / temporarily /our shipments / mean / delay/ 2-3 weeks. We trust / this /not inconvenience/ you.