Terms and Conditions: The Small Print that Covers Your Back
I recently thought it was time to update my terms and conditions. A lot has happened in 5 years and some of my services will change soon (details of new services coming soon).
Anyone who knows me, my legal head is not a good one. My principle in life is "Be Careful". And that has sort of helped. I cannot remember much about my first set of terms and conditions. I believe at the time, I asked a friend who practised law and she helped me out.
I contacted my local Enterprise Agency. For 90 minutes, both a Business Advisor and myself, put our heads together and came up with the basics of what to cover and how to cover it.
I was told to get it checked out by a solicitor. Luckily your local Enterprise Agency can provide you with a couple of solicitors in the area that offer an incentive eg, first half hour free, etc.
Off this list, I chose a solicitor who seemed to specialise in businesses similar to mine. At the consultation, they talked me through quite a few things: my terms and conditions, late payment procedures (late-payers, beware), my privacy policy and my email disclaimer. And my goodness, what an eye-opener the whole experience was.
As they read through some of my terms and conditions, we found that there were many loopholes which could have put me at risk at any time. I also found out that all contract clauses have to be reasonable otherwise they are in breach of The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (thankfully nothing in my old contract was classed as unreasonable either).
They discussed what I needed to cover in great depth, so that even I understood it. Since then we have been going through every minute detail and I have felt that I could ask them anything, and they would advise me or put me right. After a month of fine-tuning, I finally got the final copy on Tuesday last week.
The final bill came to several hundred but I don't see that as a burden, I see it as an investment. For anyone setting up a business, include this cost in your business plan and your initial business expenses. It covers your obligations as a supplier/service provider and covers your customer's obligations of what is required.
Now I feel more legitimate, more professional and a lot less stressed. I will never be in Perry Mason's league, but I understand the legalities a bit more than I used to.
I would definitely recommend the solicitors that helped me. They were called Birkett Long Solicitors, and they have offices in both Colchester, Chelmsford and Halstead.
By the way, if any of my customers reading this that have not as yet received a copy, please could you drop me a line and let me know asap (and thank you for reading).
Anyone who knows me, my legal head is not a good one. My principle in life is "Be Careful". And that has sort of helped. I cannot remember much about my first set of terms and conditions. I believe at the time, I asked a friend who practised law and she helped me out.
I contacted my local Enterprise Agency. For 90 minutes, both a Business Advisor and myself, put our heads together and came up with the basics of what to cover and how to cover it.
I was told to get it checked out by a solicitor. Luckily your local Enterprise Agency can provide you with a couple of solicitors in the area that offer an incentive eg, first half hour free, etc.
Off this list, I chose a solicitor who seemed to specialise in businesses similar to mine. At the consultation, they talked me through quite a few things: my terms and conditions, late payment procedures (late-payers, beware), my privacy policy and my email disclaimer. And my goodness, what an eye-opener the whole experience was.
As they read through some of my terms and conditions, we found that there were many loopholes which could have put me at risk at any time. I also found out that all contract clauses have to be reasonable otherwise they are in breach of The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (thankfully nothing in my old contract was classed as unreasonable either).
They discussed what I needed to cover in great depth, so that even I understood it. Since then we have been going through every minute detail and I have felt that I could ask them anything, and they would advise me or put me right. After a month of fine-tuning, I finally got the final copy on Tuesday last week.
The final bill came to several hundred but I don't see that as a burden, I see it as an investment. For anyone setting up a business, include this cost in your business plan and your initial business expenses. It covers your obligations as a supplier/service provider and covers your customer's obligations of what is required.
Now I feel more legitimate, more professional and a lot less stressed. I will never be in Perry Mason's league, but I understand the legalities a bit more than I used to.
I would definitely recommend the solicitors that helped me. They were called Birkett Long Solicitors, and they have offices in both Colchester, Chelmsford and Halstead.
By the way, if any of my customers reading this that have not as yet received a copy, please could you drop me a line and let me know asap (and thank you for reading).
Posted: 03 October 2005
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