British expectations about fair dealing exceed what’s legally required. Even if you could enforce something—exploit a loophole, take advantage of unclear terms, benefit from someone’s mistake—if it violates basic fairness, it’s wrong. The British call this “sharp practice”: technically legal but not proper.
It applies to both sides. Suppliers who hide unfavorable terms or exploit customer ignorance are condemned even if no law is broken. Customers who exploit supplier errors or take unfair advantage are equally disapproved. The standard is basic decency and good faith: interpret agreements in the spirit they were made, treat the other party as you’d want to be treated, don’t extract advantages you wouldn’t defend publicly.
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