Agents
An agent is a person appointed to transact business in the name and for the account of another.
The person who employs the agent becomes de jure the latter’s principal, and is therefore called the principal.
An agent is called general when empowered to do all acts within the scope of the business, but special when engaged to perform some particular class of work only, or for a single operation.
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A general agent is sometimes appointed for a particular district or country, as a general agent for France, within the limits of which he enjoys an exclusive right of representation, and all business in the said country or district must be done through him.
An agent’s authority is limited to the scope of his business. The principal is liable when an agent contracts for him in his name.
But an agent is personally liable if he contracts as principal without authority, if he sign in his own name, and prime facie when the principal is not named.
The professional agents usually employed in commercial transactions may be distinguished into:- brokers, factors, commission merchants, or consignees, auctioneers, shipping and forwarding agents.
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A broker contracts business not in his own, but in the name of his principal. He is an agent employed to make bargains and contracts between other persons, and acts for both parties.
Usually he is not intrusted with the possession of the things bought or to be not sold nor can he cash the price of the goods sold unless empowered to do so by special agreement with his
According to the branch of trade particularly followed, there are shipbrokers, billbrokers, stockbrokers, insurance brokers, etc.
A factor is an agent employed to sell goods or merchandise consigned or delivered to him by or for his principal. Hence he is often called a commission merchant, or consignee. He differs from a broker in that he may sell in his own name; and keeps temporarily in his own hands the goods to be sold for the account of his principal.
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He can raise money on the security of the goods; and any one dealing bond fide as to their disposal, or the documents of title, is protected. The name of factor is used to distinguish professional agents specially devoted to certain trades; as corn-factors, coal-factors, etc.
An auctioneer, according to English custom, is a person duly licensed by competent authorities to sell goods or real estate by public auction.
He is, therefore, the agent for the seller, and is temporarily entrusted with the property to be sold through his hands. He differs from a broker or a factor in that he can only sell, while the former can buy as well as sell.
Shipping or forwarding agents are merely charged with the despatch of goods to their destination for account of the owners.
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Remuneration of Agents.-
The usual form of the remuneration due to an agent is that of an allowance on the amount of the business transacted, which is fixed either by special agreement, or in accordance with the usage of the trade, or the custom of the place where the bargain was made.
Such allowance is called brokerage when paid to a broker; factorage when paid to a factor; percentage when calculated at so much per hundred; lot money when due to an auctioneer for each lot of goods sold.
An agent is not entitled to receive commission from any party or parties with whom he may happen to transact business on behalf of his principal, unless with the latter’s knowledge and consent.
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Nay, the fact of receiving any money or consideration whatever from such party or parties without such consent is held by law as an act of misdemeanour.
The general term commission embraces, however, all such expressions, and may be used as an equivalent for any of them.
Del Credere.-
The Italian expression del credere, as used in trade, means an agreement between an agent and his principal, whereby the former, in consideration of an additional amount being paid to him besides his usual commission, undertakes to guarantee the payment of goods sold through his hands, and becomes thereby liable to his principal for the amount, in case of insolvency of the buyer.
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Such extra commission paid to the agent is called Del credere commission, or simply Del credere.