Willem Johannes Louw
20 Jan 2026
Informal chats, formal consequences: why business WhatsApp messages can bind you in court.
WhatsApp and similar messaging platforms have become integral to modern communication and, increasingly, to business dealings. Treating these platforms as informal or non-binding, however, can carry significant legal risk, as a recent court decision illustrates.
For many years, WhatsApp messages have featured in civil litigation, including divorce proceedings etc, where screenshots have assisted magistrates and judges in evaluating the evidence before them. More recently, their role has expanded into commercial disputes, with courts expressly relying on WhatsApp communications.
In a recent matter, the court accepted WhatsApp messages as the most reliable evidence in resolving a dispute between the parties, ultimately granting a provisional liquidation order.
The applicant had drilled boreholes for the respondent, who failed to settle the full amount owed for the services rendered. Numerous WhatsApp messages were exchanged between the directors of the applicant and the respondent, in which the respondent acknowledged the debt and undertook to make payment of the outstanding balance. Payment, however, was never made.
The applicant consequently launched liquidation proceedings. The respondent opposed the application and raised two main defences in its answering affidavit:
that payment was being withheld pending receipt of South African National Standards (SANS) reports for the boreholes; and
that payment would only become due once the entire project had been completed.
The court found that the WhatsApp messages made no reference to either the alleged requirement for SANS reports or to payment being conditional upon completion of the final borehole. On the face of the admitted messages, the court concluded that the respondent was indebted to the applicant, had no bona fide defence, and was unable to pay its debts.
The court granted a provisional liquidation order against the respondent.
The Court also cautioned that WhatsApp communications should be treated with the same care as formal correspondence, as they may be relied upon as admissible and decisive evidence in legal proceedings.
The case establishes that WhatsApp messages can constitute credible and decisive contractual evidence in commercial disputes, and that parties will be held to the commitments they make in such communications, even where no formal and or signed written agreement exists.
(Source: https://www.phinc.co.za/Our-Insights)