What Should I Do Before Suing If Goods Delivered to My Company Are Defective?

Commercial Agreements

Prepared by: Constantinople

In sales of goods between companies, merely objecting to the invoice may be insufficient to assert a defect. Delivery, inspection and notification dates matter; readily apparent problems and hidden defects discovered later are not assessed in the same way. Applicable deadlines must be examined together with the agreement and nature of the transaction. Legal assessment should therefore be sought without delay.

Where possible, preserve the products in their current condition; record serial numbers, packaging and delivery documents. Keep original photographs and videos, and prepare the inspector's report and the seller's responses. Repairing, converting or destroying a product may make later proof more difficult. If intervention is necessary for safety reasons, it is useful to document the reason, date and extent of the work separately.

In certain circumstances, a court procedure for recording evidence may be considered. This can help record the defect and the goods' current condition through expert examination; it does not itself mean that compensation will be awarded. Price reduction, replacement, rescission and damages claims do not have identical requirements in every case. Applicable law and special sales rules must be checked separately for international sales.

Prepare the delivery and defect notification dates, product records and the seller's response together. Consider the need to preserve evidence before altering or returning the product.

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