In entering into contracts for services,customers might be influenced by statements made by sales representatives.Businesses offering services often use standardized form contracts.Under the parol evidence rule,pre-contract statements made in these circumstances are effectively unenforceable.How can a business effectively and ethically use standardized form contracts and the parol evidence rule?

This can be done by including a merger or integration clause,which provides that the written contract is the complete integration of the parties' agreement.This will help a business to effectively use the parol evidence rule to prevent a party from introducing sales representatives' pre-contractual statements in court.The written contract should also be clear to avoid ambiguities,because parol evidence may be introduced to resolve the ambiguity.Sales representatives should be trained to know the difference between a "sales pitch" and misrepresentation,or undue influence.They should review the terms of the contract with the customer to ensure their understanding of the terms.