- Jurisdiction
- European Union
I (a natural person) cooperated with a company (I assume a legal person). The cooperation consisted of a digital marketing service for a company from German. I did not ask for money for this service, but rather non-monetary compensation (goods). All of the communication between us has a written record, as it was done over email. Since this is happening in a specific industry, there are terms that are generally known in that industry. I used these terms without further explanation or clarification, thinking that the company is familiar with their meaning. After examining all of our written exchanges, I concluded that the company itself omitted almost every possible detail that would otherwise have been clearly defined and stated.
In our early exchanges, I wrote that I would not charge any fees prior to the completion of my service. I don't know how this stands legally, but I did never stated or suggested that there would be no costs or charges after I completed my service. At no point in our exchanges did I suggest that I would provide my service free of charge. After recent conversations and exchanges, I believe that the company is not familiar with the industry terms. There's also a possibility that there's a language barrier. The terms that I used to describe the goods suggest and are generally accepted to mean that the goods are to be kept.
Now, here's where things get more complicated. I partially fulfilled my service, and the company has already seen a huge impact, benefit, and profit from my service. This is a subjective conclusion that I made based on several factors, most of them related to a specific industry. I have already invested hundreds of hours, and this also includes professional knowledge, experience, and resources.
The company is now requesting from me to send the goods back. However, I must point out that when the company sent the goods, it did so via regular mail with no contract, mutual agreement, or suggestion that the goods were to be returned. I examined all our emails, including the ones leading up to the package being sent, and the company never stated or suggested that the package was to be returned or kept temporarily. In addition to requesting the goods to be returned, it is also claiming they are company property.
Has the company broken any laws? What can you conclude from the legal side, and what are my rights here? Considering how informal everything was done, is there any base for the company to force me to send the goods back?
In our early exchanges, I wrote that I would not charge any fees prior to the completion of my service. I don't know how this stands legally, but I did never stated or suggested that there would be no costs or charges after I completed my service. At no point in our exchanges did I suggest that I would provide my service free of charge. After recent conversations and exchanges, I believe that the company is not familiar with the industry terms. There's also a possibility that there's a language barrier. The terms that I used to describe the goods suggest and are generally accepted to mean that the goods are to be kept.
Now, here's where things get more complicated. I partially fulfilled my service, and the company has already seen a huge impact, benefit, and profit from my service. This is a subjective conclusion that I made based on several factors, most of them related to a specific industry. I have already invested hundreds of hours, and this also includes professional knowledge, experience, and resources.
The company is now requesting from me to send the goods back. However, I must point out that when the company sent the goods, it did so via regular mail with no contract, mutual agreement, or suggestion that the goods were to be returned. I examined all our emails, including the ones leading up to the package being sent, and the company never stated or suggested that the package was to be returned or kept temporarily. In addition to requesting the goods to be returned, it is also claiming they are company property.
Has the company broken any laws? What can you conclude from the legal side, and what are my rights here? Considering how informal everything was done, is there any base for the company to force me to send the goods back?
