I’m not going to go off on one of my legal rants here – honestly.
I’ll just mention how important it is, when dealing with consumers rather than other businesses, that you have watertight AND FAIR Conditions of Carriage and that you can prove that the customer has had the opportunity to examine your Conditions before the service is supplied.
It’s also particularly important to examine and record the condition of any items collected as part of a transaction between two parties that may well be unknown to each other. Punter A may say that his shite piece of furniture left his house in perfect condition, whil punter B will notice the scratches.
You’ve also got the issue of consequential loss. Your T&Cs might (should) exclude it, but unless you can prove that the punter has agreed to you T&Cs then you could be held liable for unlimited amounts. Even if they’ve agreed then unfair contract terms can be overturned very easily in court.
It’s an absolute minefield and in my opinion you’re all best off steering well clear of business with private individuals.
Now ignore me and carry on and I’m sure everything will actually be OK.
Posted under Courier Basics, Legal Issues
Posted by Alec at 5:44 pm, March 26, 2007