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| He came to do some measurements on the Terrace and make an offer for what it would cost to have new sunshades installed. After pondering back and forth I confirmed that the offer was OK. He came back to me and said that he would need a signed contract before he orders anything. | |
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Some thoughts:
- yes oral agreements are generally valid. However, if the parties agree on a form requirement (i.e. a written, signed agreement) then they are not bound unless the contract is actually signed.
https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classifi...index.html#a16
- the Swiss Unfair Competition Act prohibits the unauthorized use of the work results of someone else (i.e. offers, calculations, plans).
https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifi.../index.html#a5 (German only).
In summary, if the tradesman did not want to be bound before having a written agreement in place, then he cannot really complain if the OP walked away before signing the dotted line.
However, if the OP took the measurements (and any plans) that the tradesmen made, and simply gave them to a different tradesman to order the materials and install the shades, then tradesman might have a legitimate complaint.