The enforceability of contracts purported to be created by the purchase of a ticket to travel or attend an event has been the subject of substantial judicial consideration. Such cases typically involve a ticket or other documents being provided with either terms and conditions printed within them or a reference to further terms being incorporated is included. In such circumstances, such terms have been found only to be binding if the carrier or provider has taken sufficient steps to bring the terms to the ticket holder’s attention at the time of the contract. The conventional analysis of ticket cases is that the contract is not fully formed binding until the time of the relevant event, with the traveller having the option to reject the terms printed on the ticket up until the time of travel.
Exemption clauses, or onerous or unusual clauses, impose a higher level of obligation on the offeror to do ‘all that was reasonably necessary’ to bring those clauses to the attention of the other party. Providing a reference on the face of a document to terms available elsewhere, such as on the reverse of a ticket or on a nearby poster, or through an on-line document link, have been found to be sufficient. The location, font and format are relevant, so that key terms being placed under a prominent heading of ‘Important Notice’ will be an important consideration.