In the mid-afternoon of the day fixed for the completion of the sale of land the purchaser's solicitor asked the vendors' solicitor on the telephone whether time for completion could be extended for a week. The vendors' solicitor said that he would take his clients' instructions and revert back. He failed to do so. The purchaser sought to argue that the vendor was estopped from denying that the time for completion had been extended. You will not be surprised to read that the argument failed. The statement, "I will take instructions" is equivocal. So too was the silence that followed
