What to do if my receptionist is not authorized to accept services on my behalf but did just that?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if my receptionist is not authorized to accept services on my behalf but did just that?
I own a small medical office and have 2 employees – a receptionist and an office manager. The receptionist received a call from the local Yellow Pages for an online advertisement. She said she didn’t authorize it but now they are calling everyday and faxing over an invoice and threatening to turn it over to collections. Am I legally obligated to pay this even thought it was “authorized “by my receptionist and not myself? Also, I knew nothing about it until now, apparently this phone call happened 5 months ago.
Asked on February 27, 2013 under Business Law, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If the vendor would reasonably think that your receptionist had the authority to accept on your behalf, then they could rely on her "apparent authority"; that is, if a person would seem to have authority to reasonable outside third parties, that appearance of authority is enough for them in most cases. You can, of course, dispute that she ever in fact authorized this; then it will come down, if they sue you, to how is more credible and/or has supporting evidence (e.g. a recorded call)--the vendor or your receptionist.
If she did in fact authorize this while knowing that she did not have authority, you could sue her to recover the cost from her--she acted outside her authority, and so could be liable.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.