C. Put the parts of the letter into correct order and name them
| 20 May 20- | |
| HALL &CO. LIMITED BUILDERS' MERCHANTS Albert Road Peterborough PE2 7EK Теl: 01733 564231 Fax: 01733 341865 Email: [email protected] | |
| Dear Mr Freeland | |
| Mike Longley Sales Manager Hall & Co. Ltd | |
| Yours sincerely | |
| Enc. | |
| Mr M. Freeland 57 Coniston Crescent Dunstable Bedfordshire LU14 3RW | |
| We note that you have made a planning application to extend your property, and I am writing to tell you about the building products and services which Hall & Co. provide. Our products start at the foundations with sand, cement, and bricks and we supply a full range of timber and plasterboard at unbeatable prices. We also offer a FREE ESTIMATING SERVICE with orders over £50.00. We feel sure you will find a lot to interest you in the enclosed brochure and look forward to … |
D. Write a business letter to a potential new customer of your company requesting information about some products they sell.
Reading 2: Types of business documents
A company uses documents to communicate, transact business and analyze its productivity. Since documents provide proof of an organization’s dealings and may be referred to for years to come, it is important that they be well written. Business documents range from brief email messages to complex legal agreements. Some documents are prepared by employees and business owners, while others are drafted by professionals from outside of the company, such as accountants and lawyers.
A. Study the information below and do the task after it.
| 1) an enquiry | a request of information (sent by the customer) |
| 2) a quotation | the price given for goods or a piece of work |
| 3) an estimate | an approximate calculation of the cost of smth |
| 4) a counter-proposal | a letter where the customer tries to get better terms |
| 5) an order | a request to supply goods (sent by customer) |
| 6) an invoice | a bill for goods or work done |
| 7) a remainder | a letter to a customer about an unpaid invoice |
| 8) a receipt | a document that proves you have paid for some goods |
| 9) a statement | a list of amounts paid and still owed, sent every month |
| 10) a complaint | a letter saying you are not satisfied about smth |
B. In which documents from the above exercise would you find the following sentences?
1) I am afraid your minimum quantity is too high for our first order. Please let us know if you are able to reduce this.
2) When we opened the package we noticed that some of the goods were damaged.
3) We saw your advert in a recent issue of Engineering magazine. We are interested in…
4) Unfortunately it is not possible to reduce the delivery time, but we could offer a discount of 2% for an order of this size.
5) Thank you for a letter of 21 April asking about…. We are pleased to enclose our current brochure and price list.
6) We note from our records that your account for the first quarter is still not paid. We hope to receive payment of this account as soon as possible.
Contracts
A. Study the topical vocabulary
| essential clauses | основные условия контракта |
| to strike a deal | заключить сделку |
| standard contract | типовой контракт |
| contracting parties | договаривающиеся стороны |
| supplement | дополнять |
| eliminate | исключать, устранять |
| to be in conformity with | соответствовать |
| firm price | твердая цена |
| fixed price | фиксированная цена |
| sliding price | скользящая цена |
| be subject to | подлежать чему-то |
| to quote a price | назначить цену |
| TT (telegraphic transfer) | телеграфный перевод |
| mail remittance | почтовый перевод |
| bill of lading | коносамент (расписка капитана судна, подтверждающая прием груза на борт) |
| invoice | счет-фактура |
| for collection | на инкассо |
| bill of exchange | переводной вексель |
| draft=bill of exchange | драфт, тратта |
| sight draft | тратта на предъявителя |
| term draft | тратта с оплатой в конце обусловленного периода |
| collection of a bill | инкассирование векселя, взыскание денег по векселю |
| letter of credit (L/C) | аккредитив (поручение банка покупателя банку поставщика производить оплату счетов поставщика за отгруженный товар) |
| confirmed ~ | аккредитив ~ подтвержденный |
| irrevocable ~ | ~ безотзывный |
| draft contract | проект контракта |
| hereinafter known as/ hereinafter referred to as | именуемый в дальнейшем |
| the seller undertakes | поставщик берет на себя обязательство/ обязуется |
| to pay the charges | оплачивать расходы |
| penalty clause | статья о санкциях |
| to invoke | зд. применять |
| in the event=in case | в случае |
| to reclaim | потребовать вернуть |
| dispute | разногласия |
Reading 3: Essential clauses of a contract
B. Read the text.
When striking a deal, contract forms are widely used. Standard contracts are not a must as some articles may be altered and supplemented, eliminated and replaced, but still normally they include the following parts: legal title of the contracting Parties, Subject of a Contract, Price and Total Amount of a Contract, Delivery and Payment Terms.
Introduction part of a Contract contains the legal names of the contracting Parties, personal names and official positions of the representatives from the parties.
Subject of Contract names the product for sale or purchase. It also indicates the unit of measure for specific commodities.
Quality. The Quality of machines and equipment is to be in conformity with the technical specification of the Contract. The Quality of raw materials and foodstuffs is determined, as a rule, by standards, by sample or by description.
Price. The price in a contract may be firm, fixed or sliding. Firm price. Firm price are not subject to change in the course of the fulfillment of the contract. Fixed price. It is the price governing in the market on the day of the delivery or for a given period. Sliding prices. These prices are quoted for machinery and equipment which require a long delivery.
Payment.A cheque is a written order to a bank given and sighned by someone who has money deposited there to pay a certain amount mentioned in the cheque to a person named on it.
In the place of the cheque system Banks provide an international system of Bank Transfers. The Seller gives TT (telegraph transfer) or mail remittance terms to a Buyer when he is a trusted customer or agent. It involves risk as the Seller ships goods without any assurance of getting payment.
Like a cheque, a draft is an order to pay. It is made out by an exporter and presented to the importer. It is also called a bill of exchange. A sight draft is a bill which is paid immediately on presentation. A bill to be paid at a later date is called a term draft. There are 30-day, 60-, 90- and 120-day drafts.
A very useful method is to attach the shipping documents (the Bill of Lading, the Insurance Policy and the Invoice) to the Draft and hand them to the Bank for collection. This method of payment does not involve risk when drafts are presented against L/C. With a letter of credit, at least when it is confirmed and irrevocable, the payment is guaranteed.