Russian legislation provides for many types of civil law agreements. Among them - a contract for the provision of services for a fee. It can be concluded both between citizens and between organizations.
Definition
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines contracts for the provision of services as agreements under which one party (contractor) agrees to do something for the other (customer), which guarantees subsequent payment of the result. Among lawyers, there is an opinion that such contracts in all cases will be reimbursable, bilateral, and also consensual - an oral agreement is enough to recognize a transaction.
Some experts believe that the contract for the provision of services is an example of mutual trust of citizens. According to Chapter 39 of the Code, such contracts can be concluded for the provision of services related to medicine, auditing, consultations, communication and information transfer technologies, tourism and training. This type of contract is rather widespread, such as a contract for the provision of legal services - legal advice, legal support. There may, of course, be other areas of interaction between the customer and the contractor that are not prohibited by law.
Contractor Responsibilities
Provision of services under the contract implies a significant amount of responsibilities assigned to the contractor. Here are the main ones. Firstly, the contractor is required to provide the customer with a full range of information about himself (for example, office address, license information, if necessary). Secondly, the contractor is obliged to provide the service no later than the period prescribed in the contract. An exception may be cases when the delay appears due to force majeure.
Force majeure circumstances, as some lawyers have noted, do not include the fact that certain tools and materials that the contractor intends to use when working on an order are not available for free sale. Thirdly, the contractor, in accordance with Article 780 of the Civil Code of Russia, undertakes to render his services under the contract in person (though if the customer gives the go-ahead, part of the work can still be delegated to third parties).
Customer Rights
The customer, by virtue of the fact that the contract implies the provision of services for a fee, is vested with substantial rights. Among them are the following. Firstly, the customer, in case of delay, may require the contractor to pay a daily penalty in the amount of 3% of the cost of rendering the services (the Customer Protection Law gives this right to the customer). Secondly, even if the contractor does his work under the contract in good faith and is on time, the customer nevertheless has the full right to refuse further cooperation. Contracts for the provision of services are mandatory from the point of view of performance from beginning to end only for the contractor. True, using this right, the customer must pay for the volume of services already provided. It should also be borne in mind that the customer must notify the contractor of the desire to refuse further cooperation in writing.
Features of the contract
Paid service contracts include several model clauses. They should contain information about the terms of the work performed by the contractor, as well as the order in which the customer pays for the services. Some lawyers recommend fixing the place where the contractor will do his work. The document should contain a clause reflecting the subject of the contract and, if necessary, a list of specific actions that the contractor undertakes to perform (or information about what exactly he will do in accordance with the contract, what kind of actions to take). It is important not to allow too vague or general language in the text of the contract. If it is not clear what exactly is ordered to be done by the contractor, then the subject of the contract will be considered inconsistent.
Features of contracts related to medical services
Among lawyers, there is an opinion that a contract for the provision of medical services for compensation has distinctive specifics from other civil law agreements of this type. The fact is that here we are talking about the simultaneous operation of several laws at once. The legal nature of medical service contracts, as well as other similar contracts, suggests that they should be regulated by the Civil Code, in particular, chapter 39.
Medical activities can take place in two areas - where compulsory health insurance is applied, and where the rules and regulations specific to voluntary insurance are used. The provision of medical services under civil law agreements occurs, as a rule, on the basis of an agreement on the provision of medical and preventive care. The rights and obligations of the parties under this type of contract are regulated not only by the Civil Code of Russia, but also by the Law on Health Insurance. As some lawyers note, the provision of medical services is subject to laws related to consumer protection.
Differences from the contract
The concept of a contract for the provision of services differs from that for a contract providing for the performance of contracted work. Therefore, as lawyers note, it is important to know about the distinction between these two types of agreements. The first thing they are not like is the subject. Under it, in the work contract is understood the result in the form of something tangible, and in the contract for the provision of services - the result of some activity of the contractor.
The Civil Code of Russia expressly states that the subject of the contract should be a tangible result (creating a new thing or making noticeable changes to the previous one). The factor of personal service provision is very significant. According to article 780 of the Civil Code, the contractor is obligated to render services himself under a contract for paid work, and in accordance with article 706 of the Code, the contractor has the full right to seek assistance from third parties for work on the order. What do we see? In addition to the fact that the specific types of contract for the provision of services are completely different, this type of contract is significantly different from an agreement with a similar legal nature.
When is an agreement recognized as fulfilled?
In the legislation of Russia, contracts for the provision of services are regulated by several types of norms at once. The fact of fulfilling the terms of the contract, according to a number of lawyers, is recorded at the time of signing the acceptance certificate or the presence of other evidence. Examples of the latter are oral testimonies of third parties who could participate in the work or see how it is done, testimonies from various measuring instruments and the use of other technical means.
The evidence can be printouts of telephone conversations, information from electronic mailboxes, indicating the exchange of agreements related to the contract. Moreover, according to a number of lawyers, the absence of critical comments on the results of work on the part of the customer can serve as proof of performance. Some experts recommend nevertheless to draw up acts of reception and transmission in order to avoid possible misunderstandings in the course of cooperation between the customer and the contractor.
Payment Specifics
After the approval of the acceptance certificate, the customer is obliged in any case to pay for the work of the contractor. In some cases, the contracts specify the payment under certain conditions (for example, with such and such a court decision), however, such items are most often recognized by the same courts as invalid, and the customer agrees to pay for the services of the contractor.
By the way, if the work is done well, and the person who ordered it has no complaints about it, then the fact that the contractor turned to third parties is not significant and cannot be the basis for refusing payment. At the same time, lawyers say that if there is a result of work and it is acceptable for the customer, but there is evidence that the contractor did not work (and not third parties at his request), then this may already be the basis for refusing payment.
Refusal of services of the contractor
According to Article 782 of the Civil Code of Russia, the customer can, without explanation of reasons, and unilaterally inform the contractor of his refusal of services. The contract may not have any restrictions on this right. The only case when the customer cannot refuse the concluded transaction is when the work has already been done and this can be confirmed by something (or an acceptance certificate has been signed).
There are also cases where a unilateral refusal to use the services is impossible due to the specifics of the subject of the contract (for example, when it comes to the provision of utilities). If the customer uses his right to refuse the services of the contractor, then he must, firstly, notify the other side of the agreement, and secondly, stop using the services in fact. The contractor, in turn, has the right to demand compensation for work already done (however, it will be necessary to prove that the actions were aimed at fulfilling a specific order).