Question:
Ken,
I have never seen this question posed. A contract is dated inthe body of the agreement with a date, the customer signs it and then puts thatcurrent date lets say two weeks later. Because of construction at the location to beprotected the job is completed three months later. The customer then makes thefirst payment for the monthly monitoring and lease charge.
What is consider the official starting date of the agreement or real termof the agreement (starting and finishing) in the event of a collecting case andpurposes of the certified renewal letter in the period stated in so many daysbefore the expiration date? Is there any language that the agreement can state thatthe agreement officially starts on the date of the completion of theinstallation as opposed to any of the other dates but still holds the customer bound to doing business with you?
Thanks for you response S. Gilbert
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Answer:
The "starting date" in a contract should be sufficient clear andpercise so that there is no ambiguity. Long ago I confronted thisproblem in collection cases where the contract for monitoring orleasing provided that the monthly charge commenced upon completion ofthe installation. In cases where the installation was preventedentirely or where the subscriber claimned that the installation was notcomplete, the argument was made by the subscriber that the monthlycharges did not begin; that nothing was owed. I changed the contracts a long time ago to deal with this problem.All recurring revenue contracts that I offer [www.alarmcontracts.com]provide that the recurring charges begin on the first of the monthnext succeeding the execution of the contract. You can also have a single date of contract on the top of thecontract. The signatures do not need to be dated, and the top canread that the contract is "dated as of this day of ." The "asof" signifies that the ducument may have been signed on a datedifferent than the date of the contract.