Olive advertised in the "For Sale" column of the Classic Car Journal - "1949 Triumph Roadster. Good condition. 1-year MOT, £13,000". The advertisement gave her address and telephone number. Paul saw the advertisement on Friday night and immediately wrote to Olive at her home address, agreeing to pay the £13,000 requested. He posted the letter on Saturday morning. Quentin also saw the advertisement on Friday evening and telephoned. There was no reply, but he left a message on the answering machine agreeing to buy the car for the asking price. Olive, who had gone away for the weekend, returned on Monday morning. She picked up Paul's letter and read it whilst listening to the messages on her answering machine, including the message from Quentin. On Tuesday she decided that she did not want to sell the car at all.
The first part of the question is regarding the difference between an offer and an invitation to treat, I've confirmed that this is merely an invitation to treat, therefore no contractual obligation exists, however the next part of the question is this: Assuming a contract to sell the car exists, how does Olive avoid having to sell the car?
This question has really thrown me! I don't think there is a contract at all, so it's very difficult for me to assume that there is and, secondly, if we are able to assume that one exists then surely Olive would be unable to avoid her contractual obligations? What am I missing here?