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An invoice is a contract, you have to pay them

paulcole 6y ago
As long as terms are set in advance. If they’re not and I call you on the phone for 1 minute and you send me a $200 invoice, I’m not paying it. Sue me and see if the invoice is a contract.
tomalpha 6y ago
I don’t think that’s true. An invoice is just a formal request for payment. It doesn’t itself legitimise that request. Otherwise I could send you an invoice for $1m out of the blue and according to that logic you’d have to pay me. There must have been some agreement, most likely in the form of a contract, in advance, for you to have to pay that invoice. And even then, some companies employ large teams of people whose entire job is trying to avoid or delaying paying invoices in order to improve their cash flow.
jlokier 6y ago
It actually isn't. An agreement with consideration is a contract. (Consideration means something of value is exchanged.) However the agreement is made. It could be on the phone, text, smoke signals, anything. Though if it's denied later you may have a hard time proving the contract was made. Usually an invoice is sent after an agreement. You have to pay those because you already made a contract to pay (written or not, formal or informal), and quite often an invoice provides formality that was lacking before, crystallising the expected amount. The act of paying it generally signifies final agreement to that amount. For business contracts, often an invoice is the first time the buyer sees the exact amount the seller is expecting, because of details that weren't hashed out in advance (no need). For example per-hour freelancing can be like that; the buyer learns the number of hours the seller claims to have worked from the invoice. But people dispute invoices all the time if they aren't expected or differ significantly from the amount expected.
ecpottinger 6y ago
Nope, that is what the scammers sending out fake invoices want you to think.
aronpye 6y ago
Comments are correct, what I should have said was: an invoice forms part of a contract. Once you have accepted the offer and you receive the invoice, then you have to pay it. Obviously only if it is on the same terms as the accepted offer.

As long as terms are set in advance. If they’re not and I call you on the phone for 1 minute and you send me a $200 invoice, I’m not paying it. Sue me and see if the invoice is a contract.

tomalpha 6y ago

I don’t think that’s true. An invoice is just a formal request for payment. It doesn’t itself legitimise that request. Otherwise I could send you an invoice for $1m out of the blue and according to that logic you’d have to pay me. There must have been some agreement, most likely in the form of a contract, in advance, for you to have to pay that invoice. And even then, some companies employ large teams of people whose entire job is trying to avoid or delaying paying invoices in order to improve their cash flow.

jlokier 6y ago

It actually isn't. An agreement with consideration is a contract. (Consideration means something of value is exchanged.) However the agreement is made. It could be on the phone, text, smoke signals, anything. Though if it's denied later you may have a hard time proving the contract was made. Usually an invoice is sent after an agreement. You have to pay those because you already made a contract to pay (written or not, formal or informal), and quite often an invoice provides formality that was lacking before, crystallising the expected amount. The act of paying it generally signifies final agreement to that amount. For business contracts, often an invoice is the first time the buyer sees the exact amount the seller is expecting, because of details that weren't hashed out in advance (no need). For example per-hour freelancing can be like that; the buyer learns the number of hours the seller claims to have worked from the invoice. But people dispute invoices all the time if they aren't expected or differ significantly from the amount expected.

ecpottinger 6y ago

Nope, that is what the scammers sending out fake invoices want you to think.

aronpye 6y ago

Comments are correct, what I should have said was: an invoice forms part of a contract. Once you have accepted the offer and you receive the invoice, then you have to pay it. Obviously only if it is on the same terms as the accepted offer.