And it's in Your Own Interests...

Sale terms will be included in each contract and become effective only if they are included in the offer and accepted by the buyer. In other words your company must be able to prove that the customer had notice of the terms prior to, or at the time of, making the contract - and that both parties intended to include those terms in the contract.

Consequently, not only should all your company's new customers be made aware of your terms before trading commences, your entire customer base must be circularised with a fresh copy should your Terms & Conditions change for any reason.

Obviously, and to ensure that the intention to include your company's terms is the intention of both parties, Terms & Conditions should go out under cover of a letter requesting that customers 'signify acceptance by signing and returning the enclosed copy of this letter'.

Many customers inevitably fail to do this, and because it is difficult to prove that silence indicates consent, it is also advisable to add a sentence to the letter to cicumvent that obstacle: 'Should we not hear from you accordingly, your silence will be taken to indicate your consent to these Terms'. All envelopes, of course, should bear a return address, so that any undelivered mail can be returned to you via the dead letter service.

Interest On Your Own Terms

Obviously, and because creditors retain the right to claim more interest or compensation under their own Terms & Conditions that is available to them under the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations, it can be more advantageous to rely on such Terms - but only if they have been prepared properly.

Terms & Conditions are lengthy, carefully worded documents written by qualified professionals for specific companies in order to comply with specific legislation, fit specific corporate circumstances, and cover every possible contingency. It is therefore very unwise indeed to try to write them yourself, crib those used by competitors, or any in way re-write, shorten or amend those that have been professionally written for you. Shortened, amended, stolen, or 'amateur' Terms and Conditions are amazingly commonplace. They are also indefensible and often unenforceable.

Make Your Intentions Clear

Despite the fact that the entitlement to claim interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations is an 'implied term' of any contract to which the Act applies, your Company's intention to use the legislation should be made quite clear on its invoices, collection letters, e-mails, and all other relevant documentation.

We will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act incorporating the ED Directive 2000/35/EC would be an appropriate addition to all such documentation.