Recycling a competitor's terms & conditions

[MisterMusty]

Hi, I am about to launch a web business and am of course looking for ways to save money. One I've identified is the Terms & Conditions. I could spend over £1000 to have them drafted by a solicitor but have read through a competitor's who's business model is near identical to mine and wondered why simply reusing theirs, tweaked to fit my business name etc, wouldn't provide me with perfectly adequate cover?

I'd love to hear anyone's opinion on whether I could be sued for blatantly copying the wording of a competitor's Ts&Cs?
Whether it's fraught with risk to not involve a solicitor in my Ts&Cs drafting (the competitor really is identical to my model so they have covered every eventuality in their version).
Whether recycling competitor Ts&Cs is often done and if so, with what success?

Thanks in advance for any points of view.

 

[termsandconditions]

Dear Mister Musty

Copying a competitor's terms is one of the five different ways you can create terms and conditions for your business. They are each analysed in this article.

Yes, you can be prosecuted and suffer adverse publicity for copying a competitor's terms. There is a European case which is mentioned in the above article.

But of greater risk to your business is that it will not be fully protected when things go wrong. For example, how will you know whether the terms you have copied or plagiarised are adequate for your enterprise? Chances are the terms you are copying have been copied from another poor soul's site. We see these 'chinese whisper' terms all the time; they have errors, nonsensical clauses, ommissions and are of questionable relevance to the business client.

Furthermore, if you intend to trade online, do the copied terms cover distance selling regulations, e-commerce regulations, data protection act etc etc?

My credit management team will be happy to do a free review of your proposed draft if you wish so we can point out what's missing, what needs strengthening and what's OK. This link takes you to the online form. We are supported by legal professionals but can apply lower charges for bespoke terms than most if not all solicitors. This is because business terms of trade and associated client dopcumentation are a core part of our business.

Best Regards