If your business uses standard contracts for business you need to take great care before relying on standard precedents:-
- Too many businesses re-cycle terms and conditions that they have copied from competitors
- Terms of trading need to be drafted to take account of the specific conditions in which you do business
- Commercial contracts can be crucial to the success of your business
In a tough economic climate, properly drafted terms and conditions can mean the difference between the survival or failure:-
- In Debt Collection, poorly drafted terms and conditon can prejudice or delay recovering vital cash for your business
- A properly drafted Retention of Title clause might enable you to repossess goods sold to a customer who becomes insolvent rather than get limited recovery through a liquidator
The kind of detail that can make a fundamental difference is whether your terms and conditions:-
- Make clear that title in the goods you sell does not pass to the buyer until they are paid for and that your customer is aware that this is the case
- Make sure all goods are signed for and confirmed as being in good condition on arrival
- Make sure separate deliveries of goods are identifiable if possible – this will help if some goods are paid for and others of the same type are not.
- Use of an ‘all monies’ clause (in which title to goods only passes when the account is fully paid) may be of assistance
- Make sure that any issues regarding quality are dealt with promptly and are fully documented, so the fact that there are no outstanding issues relating to the goods supplied is well evidenced.
We strongly recommend that businesses get professional help with their terms and conditions of business and with all their commercial contracts.
Please contact us to discuss how we might be able to help you.
