In the latest legal column from Woodfines, Lily Burton a solicitor in their Corporate Commercial team, gives an insight into drafting Terms & Conditions.
No matter the size of your business, it is crucial that you do not overlook the importance of ensuring you have a well-drafted set of Terms & Conditions in place.
Terms & Conditions set out the basic contractual terms between your business and its customers and in the unfortunate circumstances where there is a dispute between the parties, the Terms & Conditions are responsible for governing the relationship.
It is therefore important to ensure that these documents are robust in nature and adequately protect your business interests whilst also being tailored to your individual business operations.
By putting a robust set of industry-focused Terms & Conditions in place, your business will be able to clearly set out each party’s obligations to each other, the payment terms and provide clarity in terms of liability along with dealing with a variety of other factors.
Without a clear set of Terms & Conditions in place dealing with the aforementioned issues, there is great scope for a misunderstanding between the parties which could result in late payment and in some circumstances, non-payment.
If this were to become commonplace this could cause cash flow problems for any business and it is therefore important to address issues such as this in your standard contract.
There is different legislation applicable to contracts with consumers and those with businesses.
For example, The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies to business to consumer contracts but does not apply to business to business contracts.
This places restrictions on a businesses ability to exclude or limit their liability among various other restrictions. Terms & Conditions therefore need to be carefully drafted to comply with the relevant legal framework so as to ensure they are legally enforceable and can be relied upon.
Due to the nuances of the legislative framework, it is important that you seek legal advice to ensure your Terms & Conditions are legally compliant whilst also protecting your business interests.
If you already have Terms & Conditions in place it is important to remember that your business activities, the industry you operate in and the applicable laws are constantly evolving.
As such, your Terms & Conditions should be reviewed, and where necessary amended, on a regular basis to ensure they align with such developments and offer your business adequate protection.
For assistance with ensuring your business has suitable Terms & Conditions in place, please contact our Corporate Commercial team on businesslaw@woodfines.co.uk
by Lily Burton
In association with Woodfines Solicitors
