On Monday Dalby Supplies emails Kerrow Ltd offering 600 tonnes of grit salt at £90 a tonne. Kerrow replies, 'We will take the full 600 tonnes at £84 a tonne.' Dalby answers that it will not reduce its price. On Wednesday Kerrow emails, 'We accept your offer of 600 tonnes at £90.' Dalby has meanwhile sold the salt elsewhere. Is there a contract?

Correct answer: A) No, because Kerrow's reply at £84 was a counter-offer that rejected and ended Dalby's original offer, so Kerrow's Wednesday email was only a new offer

Explanation

A counter-offer operates as a rejection of the original offer, which then ceases to exist (Hyde v Wrench). Kerrow's Wednesday email could not accept Dalby's original offer; it was a new offer that Dalby was free to ignore. No express withdrawal was needed because the original offer had already ended, and Dalby never agreed to £84. Contrast a mere request for information (Stevenson v McLean), which does not destroy the offer.