One thing life has taught me is to get everything in writing. I have heard that the Swiss-Germans prefer to have all contracts written.

Recently i had contracted a construction company to make some repairs. I asked for the contract to be in writing, and they got offended. Saying "dont you trust us?". i find that a lot of Swiss-Italians dont like to put things in writing, even though the courts here seem to require it. Does anyone have similar situations? What have you done? And does the Swiss-german legal system work for the Italian region?

- this is not really a complaint, just a general cultural understanding question.

Contract law is the same everywhere in Switzerland, maybe it is interpreted differently in Ticino but I think it's worth it to become familiar with the Obligationenrecht.

I'd never let a construction company do any work at a place I own without written contracts. It's just asking for troubles on both the financial aspect and the exact extent of construction work.

I think you should kindly insist on a contract "for your files". I don't know about cultural differences but wouldn't overrate them anyway. In situations where costs can't be estimated to the last Rappen in advance (like it might be the case in construction and similar handicraft businesses), it's also possible to specify a bandwidth for the costs and this would be a binding offer unless the company states otherwise in a clause. Time to read that OR...

You are a fool if you dont get a large ticket contract in writing. Simple as that.

dave

Form of contracts
Contracts can be oral or written (in simple form, qualified or certified).Usually, contracts form is freedom, unless the law obliges a special form. Most contracts are oral in Ticino. Their validity is equal of written contracts. The difference is only the increased difficulty of proving the existence (witnesses), or to remember any details, in case of subsequent disputes. So for the most important and complex contracts are usually used, in any case, the written form. The text of the contract and also allows a better examination is a document tries.


In italiano
Forma dei contratti
I contratti possono essere orali oppure scritti (nella forma semplice, qualificata o autentica). Per il CO normalmente vi è liberta di forma, salvo se la legge prevede una forma speciale. La maggior parte dei contratti sono orale. La loro validita è pari q auella dei contratti scritti. La solo differenza consiste nella maggiore difficolta di provarne l’esistenza (testimoni) o di ricordare eventuali dettagli, in caso di successivi contrasti. Percio per i contratti piu importanti e complessi si ricorre normalmente, in ogni caso alla forma scritta. Il testo del contratto consente un migliore esame e inoltre è un documente ci prova. La stesura scritta puo avvenire:
-completamente a mano
-nella forma di un formulario prestampato
-nella forma di lettere della correspondenza
e deve recare la firma di ogni persona che s’impegna nel contratto. Si devono leggere precisamente anche le condizioni generali a caratteri piccoli. Per la conclusione di contratti si devono osservare i seguenti principi:
chi firma rimane impegnato
-un contratto concluso corretamente si puo sciogliere solo se la controparte è d’accordo
-se due soci firmato in comune un contratto, rispondono pure in comune