Тема 5. Деловы письма (business letters) (стр. 6 )

In many cases, however some difficulty or other may arise: goods may be out of stock, a customer may ask for special terms or for extension of credit, delivery dates may have to be adjusted or references to be taken up in case of a new customer. In all these cases special correspondence is necessary and the execution of the order may be held up until these points have been cleared.

The arrangement between the Supplier and the Buyer is not legally binding until the Supplier has accepted the order. After that both parties are legally bound to honour their agreement.

The buyer's obligations

When a binding agreement comes into force, the Buyer is required by law to:

Accept the goods supplied as long as they comply with the terms of the order. Pay for the goods at the time of delivery or within the period specified by the supplier. Check the goods as soon as possible (failure to give prompt notice of faults to the Supplier will be taken as acceptance of the goods). The supplier's obligations

The Supplier is required by law to:

Deliver the goods exactly as ordered at the agreed time. Guarantee the goods to be free from faults of which the Buyer could not be aware at the time of purchase.

If faulty goods are delivered, the buyer can demand either a reduction in price, a replacement of the goods or cancellation of the order. Damages may possibly be claimed.

Questions:

Where is an order usually written? Can an order be telephoned? Should it be confirmed in any way then? What points should you mention in the covering letter? What is the procedure after the order has been received? What are the Buyers' and the Suppliers' obligations?

Example 3. Enquiry and order

A business transaction often starts with an inquiry which may later be followed by an order.

Both inquiry and order are meant to arose and stimu­late business activity on the part of recipient. They are typically asking letters. Orders express the writ­er's intention to do business with his correspondent, usually to buy some goods from them.

Airport of Domodedovo Domodedovo area Moscow region Russian Federation 142015 Garment factory Customs officers' Clothing 306, Pererva Street Novosibirsk R F 961500 4 Nov. 2010 Gentlemen: Thank you for your quotation of October 30. We have pleasure in placing an order with you for 1,900 suits at Price: 3.745 rubles in the colours and sizes speci­fied below: Quantity Size Colour Quantity Size Colour 0 8, 16 white 0 10,12,14 red 0 10,12,14 white 0 16 yellow 50 8,16 green 0 10,12,14 yellow 100 10,12,14 green 50 16 black 0 8,16 red 100 10,12,14 black We shall open a letter of credit with your bank as soon as we receive your order acknowledgement. Please arrange for immediate collection and transport since we need the suits for New Year. Yours truly, P. Zernov P. Zernov HR manager

NOTES: It is an import order, and, as we can no­tice, placing orders is simple from the point of view of letter writing. The fact is that usually the purchas­ing department or the buyer fills in an order form. But in this case the correspondent prefers to write a letter in order to make certain points quite clear. There are special import regulations which are touched upon in the last paragraph: it is necessary to complete for­malities and to stress delivery instructions.

It should be mentioned here that the supplier must send order acknowledgement as an answer to order promptly to thank his customer for the order and to confirm it.

If some conditions have changed, the customer must be notified. In case the goods ordered are no longer available, a substitute may be offered.

Example 4. The advice of dispatch

This advice of dispatch follows the order acknowl­edgement.

Garment factory Customs officers' Clothing 306, Pererva Street Novosibirsk R F 961500 Airport of Domodedovo Domodedovo area Moscow region Russian Federation 142015 20th November, 2010 Dear Sirs: We have pleasure in notifying you that your credit was confirmed by our bank yesterday, 19th Novem­ber. We have had the 1900 suits collected today for transport by Delta Airlines to Moscow on 25th No­vember. Enclosed is our invoice for the goods in question plus the extra charges for air freight, packing list to facilitate customs clearance at your end, certificate of origin, air waybill and insurance policy. Hoping that this initial order will lead to further business, we are. Yours faithfully, DA Lavrova D. A. Lavrova Sales Manager

NOTES: The first thing to be done before writing such a letter is to examine carefully whether the part­ners account is valid or not. So in the first paragraph we come across the phrase «your credit was confirmed by our bank yesterday». Air shipment for dresses is also mentioned here.

The next paragraph deals with the documents which are necessary while importing goods: invoice, packing lists, certificate of origin, air waybill and insurance policy. As it is the initial order by Airport of Domodedovo, the Garment factory (Customs officers' Clothing) hopes to encourage them to place further orders, so their last phrase sounds very polite.

Sum up the exchange of the letters.

Phone the Buyers and tell them that you have received their order and welcome the prospect of their custom. Enquiry if it would suit them to have the goods delivered by air.

CLAIMS

No matter how good our intentions and efforts might be there are bound to be occasions when it is necessary to deal with a complaint, or even make one.

Complaints are often received by companies who ship consignments road. These complaints are sometimes about the quantity of goods received. Perhaps not enough goods were sent, perhaps too many. And sometimes it is a complaint that the wrong goods were sent.

Often there are complaints about inadequate packing, which can cause damage to the goods. Sometimes the complaint is about inferior quality. Buyers in this case often complain that the goods are not up to standard. There may be a discrepancy between the description of the s in the brochure and the goods, which actually arrived. A complaint may be about a delay in shipment, although companies often have a penalty clause in their contract to protect them against loss delay.

Complaints about damage are usually the business of insurance companies, but if the damage is caused by the negligence of the packers then the insurance companies will not accept responsibility. When there is a complaint that the wrong goods were sent, or too any, or too few then it is always necessary to check the packing list for cases, as well as the invoice. Then the agent must investigate what happened. The goods may still be at the port of loading. But the buyer cannot wait for the agent's report. He usually insists on replacements as n as possible.

Bad, inferior or inadequate packing may cause damage to goods in transit. The buyer may accept damaged goods if the supplier offers a discount, but if the goods are badly damaged they may be unsaleable and in case the buyer will demand replacements.

If the delay is very long the buyer may cancel the order, and there у be great loss to both suppliers and buyers.

Sellers most frequently make claims on Buyers because of default payment.

It should be a point of honour with a firm never to blame employees when writing replies to complaints: the firm has undertaken the work and the staff are part of the firm, therefore the firm itself is at fault and must take the consequences.

It would be wrong policy to reject the claim off-hand. The responsible party must carefully explain why the claim is de­clined and try to persuade the dissatisfied party to withdraw the claim If the contract is infringed and the parties in dispute cannot reach mutual understanding, i. e. cannot settle the matter amicably then commercial disputes are settled by arbitration. When the parties refer their disputes to the Arbitration Commission each party chooses arbitrator from among the members of this Commission. If the arbitrates fail to come to terms they appoint an umpire, another member of the same Commission.

Then the case is heard before a tribunal comprising two arbitrators and one umpire. The award is made by a majority vote.

The award of the Arbitration Commission is final and binding upon both parties.

Questions:

What complaints can the Buyers make against the Suppliers? What may happen if there is a discrepancy between the goods ser and their description on the invoice? Who usually deals with complaints about the damage to the goods? In what case do insurance companies refuse to compensate for the damage? What should the Suppliers do if there is a complaint about delivery of the wrong goods? When can a contract be cancelled? Who is to recompense for the losses? When are cases settled in arbitration?

VOCABULARY

claim to acknowledge, admit a claim to make a claim on/against sb for sth to settle a claim to submit a claim to to reject a claim to withdraw a claim justified, well-grounded claim unjustified, groundless claim to claim compensation for the loss/to claim damages to cause damage to the goods the goods are up to standard substandard/faulty goods Compare: damaged, defective goods discrepancy penalty clause negligence through sb's negligence to accept/take responsibility racking list in transit default of/in payment to undertake to undertake the work to undertake to do sth thе firm itself is at fault responsible party/ respondent, defendant dissatisfied party/plaintiff, claim­ant to infringe/break a contract infringement/breach of a contract gross infringement to reach mutual understanding dispute to settle a dispute by arbitration to settle a dispute amicably (in an amicable/friendly/way) to refer a dispute to arbitration/ the arbitration commission arbitration arbitrator umpire to come to terms/to come to an agreement/arrangement/to agree on the award of the arbitration com­mission is final and binding upon both parties the award is made by a majority vote

претензия, рекламация, иск признать законность претензии, иска предъявить претензию кому-л. на что-л. урегулировать претензию передать претензию кому-л. отклонить рекламацию забрать, отказаться от своей пре­тензии справедливая, обоснованная пре­тензия несправедливая, необоснованная претензия требовать возмещения убытков вызвать повреждение товара товар соответствует, отвечает стандарту некондиционный товар поврежденный, дефектный товар несоответствие пункт о штрафах халатность, недосмотр по чьей-л. халатности взять на себя ответственность упаковочный лист в пути отказ от уплаты, невыполнение (денежных) обязательств предпринимать, брать обязатель­ства браться за работу/поручение взять обязательства сделать что-л. фирма сама виновата сторона ответчик неудовлетворенная сторона, ис­тец нарушить контракт нарушение контракта грубое нарушение прийти к взаимопониманию спор, конфликт решить спор в арбитраже решить спор дружески передать спор в арбитраж арбитраж, третейский суд арбитр суперарбитр договориться, прийти к соглаше­нию решение арбитражной комиссии окончательно и обязательно для обеих сторон решение принимается большин­ством голосов

Ех. 1. Give the English equivalents

Послать не тот товар; плохая упаковка может вызвать поврежден товара в пути; претензия на низкое качество; товар не соответствует стандарту; существует несоответствие между товаром и его описанием; пункт о штрафе (за невыполнение договора); жалоба на задержку в поставке; принять на себя ответственность за недосмотр/халатность рабочих в порту погрузки; упаковочный лист; предложить скидку; потребовать замену товара; аннулировать заказ; большие убытки для поставщиков; предъявить претензию покупателю невыполнение финансовых обязательств; взять на себя обязательства ускорить поставку; отвечать/нести ответственность за последствия чего-л.; отклонить претензию тотчас (сходу); неудовлетворённая сторона; отозвать претензию; нарушить контракт; назначить суперарбитра; решение принимается большинством голосов; решение арбитражной комиссии окончательно и обязательно для обеих сторон.