Ben needed to replace his laptop so he went shopping at Sim Lim Square. He approached Jerry, a salesman at Newstar Computers and Accessories ("NCA"). Ben told Jerry that he was looking for a 15-inch laptop that he could use for gaming and compiling software, editing video, or working with very large databases.

Jerry then showed Ben a 15-inch laptop that he said had an Intel i9 processor which would be powerful enough for gaming as well as compiling and editing videos. Jerry also told Ben that the laptop was very popular with gamers, software programmers and video editors.

Based on Jerry's statements, Ben went ahead and bought the laptop. A few days later, Ben found his laptop to be rather slow and laggy while gaming. He then consulted his friend, Das, who was very knowledgeable about laptops. Das told Ben that his laptop was fitted only with an Intel i5 processor which was why the laptop was laggy when Ben was gaming. When Ben checked the specifications of the laptop on the user manual, he realized that Das was correct.

Ben was very upset and approached you for your advice.

Required:

(a) Define vitiating factors and the effects vitiating factors may have on contracts.

(b) Advise Ben if he might have a course of action against Jerry and NCA based on the pre-contractual statements that Jerry had made to Ben. Support your answer with relevant case law. You are not required to discuss a breach of contract.

(c) State FIVE (5) situations where a contract cannot be rescinded.