TNT don't contact to discuss payment? They simply slap you an invoice that is non-negotiable as they've already paid the VAT, possibly duty and their handling charge. On that $1000 transaction I'd not expect any duty to be charged - so it should be 20% VAT plus their £12 or similar to process it. There's even a 25% chance it will just arrive. Be careful though, depending on systems, you can get a bill in advance of delivery, which has to be paid first, or you could get the bill two or three weeks after delivery. Occasionally you may find it delivered by a different courier company from the expected one.

As Cyndy says... you need a lawyer.

Depending on the exact wording you may be doomed to repay if they don't offer employment (thus you can't accept). Alternatively you may be able to "Accept employment" even if they don't make an offer, just by writing and saying "I accept employment as Managing Director on a salary of 100K a year with a x% shareholding in the company".

Franchising is not like a standard business set up.... it is a complex business marriage. Instead of simply buying stuff from wherever you want and selling it however you want a franchisee will often have to rely on the franchisor to perform specific tasks.

Just one example would be brand marketing. - What happens if the franchisor fails to do sufficient marketing or you don't feel it is of suitable quality and is impacting your business? You can't simply slap the brand on your own advertising because you don't own it/have the rights
i. Are their obligations clearly defined?
ii. Is there a conflict resolution process?
iii. Do you have a proper license to use the brand in the first place?
iv. Does the agreement have a provision that allows you interim use of the brand during a dispute (or are you basically stuck in limbo unable to advertise).

You also need to realise that (as all the finance industry adverts state) "past performance is not indicator of future performance". The company was previously run by the founders daughter and he was likely a lot more accommodating towards her than he would be towards a non-relative. Also what happens if they decide to take it to the next level and start setting up more franchises.... some of which you feel encroach on your patch? Or what happens if they bring in a new manager/CEO who doesn't like the lax way things have been running?

Has anyone here ever bought a barcode from https://buybarcodes.co.uk/barcode-labels ? They're based in New Zealand. Does anyone here know, from *personal* experience, if their barcodes can be used in the UK major retailers?

Steve_g said:

jeez thats more then i was expecting, i assumed a 5-10% drop.

Hopefully worth it in the end!

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It depends on many factors as interlinking, using of elements like prev- and next-. But it would therefore be overly optimistic to assume 10 %. May be 20 % drop.

It's the right way to be. I know of a few stores that refuse to although maybe they would if legal action was threatened. We're unusual because we have a warehouse whereas many onliners don't so if distribution won't take it back then they struggle with a return.

Can it not be seen as a tip like a hairdresser or beauty Therapist who comes to your house? Obviously a lot more but same principle.

I can’t be quite sure, but you would also need to check regulation regarding selling children’s toys or in general children safety. Does those machines need to have some sort of safety certification? And about safety of products for children to use or consume I would not even mention

HMRC is the likely culprit. You will just have to keep trying to file the DS01.

I think that today China is producing everything for the rest of the world. It is still perceived that this market is cheapest but I think that it is not anymore. I would suggest to seek to some small countries within Balkans and East, because I have heard that Chinese are now outsourcing there

Thanks for your help people much appreciated have a great week

Acer7458 said:

Can anyone advise on how to sell off excess womenswear stock (multiple brands) close to wholesale prices? Does anyone buy such stock vs. posting it on EBay or GumTree etc or selling it at £1 per Kilo etc?

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We have a large body of customers who like a bargain and come to our website to find one. Generally, prices are less than wholesale, but selected items can achieve higher prices.

Your business does not have a vlaid lease? Usually insurance only covers claims related to your premises. How are these your premises? How does the insurance policy define the premises covered?

FD Capital said:

The 12 weeks rule is EU law / rules you need to count back to work out the average. The idea being that a week's holiday should be paid no differently than the period of work most close to that period.

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Excuse me for being pedantic, but this is simply not true!


The twelve-week rule is found in UK legislation – sections 220-224, Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA). This determines how the “rate of a week’s pay” should be calculated in instances where this is not clear – using the previous 12 weeks as an average.


European laws & judgments simply say that an employee should be not be paid less during holidays, and to ensure an employee doesn’t suffer any financial loss, overtime & commission should be included in the calculations. However, there is no European/ECJ case law to determine what a week’s pay is/how to calculate this from a variable weekly amount, and therefore while in the UK, (in the absence of any other authority) the tribunals & courts follow the legislation at 220-224, ERA, there is a strong feeling among many employment lawyers that this would fall foul of European law if or when it is ever tested at the ECJ.



Karl Limpert

My advice is to start off small and if you make a success out of it scale it up. That worked well for me back in 2004 I built a business up working in the evenings and weekends then only left my day job when it was established enough and I proved to myself I could make it work.

A website / store business is very tough and competitive so I would be careful of trying to start something like that from scratch at the current time.