Bowerman v Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) Ltd. [1996]
Case name & citation: Bowerman v Association of British Travel Agents Ltd. [1996] C.L.C. 451
Year of the case: 1996
Jurisdiction: The Court of Appeal (England & Wales)
Area of law: Communication of offer; acceptance
What is the case about?
This case is a good illustration of how a contract comes into place through an offer to the public at large.
Facts of the case (Bowerman v Association of British Travel Agents)
A school had planned and booked a skiing holiday with a tour operator that was a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). Normally, the following notice, provided by ABTA, was displayed by each member of this association:
“Where holidays or other travel arrangements have not yet commenced at the time of failure [of the tour operator], ABTA arranges for you to be reimbursed the money you have paid in respect of your holiday arrangements.”
The tour operator also displayed this notice in their office.
The skiing holiday was cancelled when the tour operator became bankrupt. The school received a refund for the money they had incurred for the holiday, but not for the cost of the wasted travel insurance. In order to be reimbursed for the cost of this insurance, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against ABTA.
The plaintiff contended that the notice showing the scheme of protection of ABTA was a unilateral offer, of which the acceptance was given by way of booking the holiday with the tour operator (a member of ABTA).
Issue raised in Bowerman v Association of British Travel Agents
Whether the notice displayed by the tour operator in their office constituted an offer?
Offer to the public at large
The majority of the time, an offer will be made to a particular person, as when Ann offers to sell her computer to Ben. Offers, however, might also be made to a specific group of individuals or even to the public at large. For example, a student might offer her old textbooks to anyone in the year below, or the owner of a lost dog might offer a prize/reward to anyone who can help find it.
Ratio decidendi (the rationale for the decision)
In the given case, it was determined that being a member of ABTA, the notice displayed by the tour operator amounted to an offer that anyone making travel arrangements via this agency would be covered by the scheme of protection (i.e., benefits of reimbursement) under the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). And the act of booking a holiday by the customer through this agency constituted an acceptance.
Judgement of the Court in “Bowerman v Association of British Travel Agents”
The Court of Appeal agreed to the plaintiff’s contention, that the ABTA notice constituted an offer, which the customer had accepted by entering into an arrangement with an ABTA member.
A contract resulting from an offer to the general public, such as the one in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co., is normally a unilateral contract.
Hence, there was a contract between the customer and ABTA. And the customer was legally entitled to claim the reimbursement money from ABTA.
Another case
Besides this case, many other cases also talk about how a legitimate offer is made to the public at large and how a contract is formed therefrom. For example, in Williams v Carwardine (1833) and Gibbons v Proctor (1891), a contract was formed through the offer of a reward to anyone who gives certain information for a particular purpose.
List of references:
- https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/samplechapter/e/l/l/i/Elliott_contract_C01.pdf
- https://www.hzu.edu.in/uploads/2020/10/97-contract-law-willan-publishing-2007.pdf
- https://www.pbookshop.com/media/filetype/s/p/1405700635.pdf
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