Terms and Conditions

[Dizzydiza]

Not sure if this is the right section i should be in....but i need advice on what i can set down as my terms and conditions..please move the thread if its in the wrong section thx ....di :wink:

1) do i have the right to say that deposits are non returnable?

2) do i have the right to set a time limit for completed work to be uplifted? and can i then dispose of that item as i see fit?

3) how much time should i give someone to contact me once i let them know that their item is completed?

3) can i charge a design fee over and above the selling price and am i still entitled to keep it if the reject my work

4) if i charge a design fee should i set a limit to how many different designs or how many times i redesign an item?

probably a lot of this should be up to myself but i dont want to be unreasonable although i do think its unreasonable of people not to contact me once i have told them that their item is ready....i was once left with a tiara for almost 6 months that i could have sold time and again as it was admired before i finally decided to call the girl and she said she no longer wanted it or the jewellery ...at that time i was only taking a £5 deposit now i am taking a 20% of the cost deposit but sometimes thats not even very much

 

[bwglaw]

Hi...

I am sure the Mod will move this to 'Legal'

Most of the above are generally fine but you need to make your terms and conditions very clear and concise. You can decide what your terms and conditions are but those that are unclear, too general, unfair (etc) are often difficult to enforce.

If you are making items for a customer you can ask for as much deposit as you like i.e. 50% of the retail price. You can set a date when the item will be ready (be careful though, you could be bound by this deadline and the customer could ask for a refund if you do not complete on time)

You can charge a design fee but over and above the selling price may deem to be unfair and a 'penalty' for not buying the item. You can charge a proportion of the selling price if the customer changes their mind.

Whichever route you take you just need to make it very clear and concise. If you would like further advice you can email me below and I could also draft your Terms of Business for you.

Jonathan

 

[Astaroth]

Not a legal eagle but my experience of contract law would say...

1) Yes, but this may not be enforcable when the fault for the wanting to cancel is something that is your companies fault - ie you agree to do a tiara for a wedding but then realise you are going to be unable to complete it until 3 weeks after the wedding it is for (due to sickness say) then you would be hard pushed to legally not return the monies if they had said up front what the item was for and when.

2) Certainly our local shoe repair man/ dry cleaners does.... lost 2 pairs of boots so far

3) To me this would depend on the size of the item/ difficulty to transport. If it is something small and isnt going to cause a real storage issue then I would say 6 months. If it is garden furniture you are making in your back garden then I would probably more be looking at 6 weeks

3 II) As long as you are clear with your pricing - you could provide a break down £X to design, £Y to make, £Z to deliver making a total cost of £A. Again the T&Cs will need to specify that design time is payable irrespective of acceptance. As long as you can show that you followed the brief/ work was up to standard etc I can see no issue with you keeping the money for design (assuming this is stated in the T&Cs)

4) I guess it depends on how you want to charge - do you want to charge by the hour for design and estimate that the design will take approximately X hours for each commission or are you wanting to have a flat fee for design? If it is the second one then you may want to limit it though this can of course mean you lose both the business of this piece and the word of mouth aspect of service/ people wearing your designs.

 

[bwglaw]

but this may not be enforcable when the fault for the wanting to cancel is something that is your companies fault - ie you agree to do a tiara for a wedding but then realise you are going to be unable to complete it until 3 weeks after the wedding it is for (due to sickness say) then you would be hard pushed to legally not return the monies if they had said up front what the item was for and when.

Yes, but not entirely unless, and only unless the customer and the service provider agree that time is of essence. Otherwise it might be difficult to enforce an implied term that time was of essence.

Other than the above, you have provided a good detailed response that I was too tired to do!

Jonathan

 

[Astaroth]

People always said that there was a lawyer in me... I just replied that I was really hungry.

The above was just ment as an example - it may not have been the best one but I was just too lazy to think about it too long.

 

[Dizzydiza]

ok thx so far for the advice....i see i still have to have a wee think about setting down terms and conditions..either that or i continue to wing it like i have being doing so, so far