It can be easy to forget just how important it is to read Terms and Conditions (T&Cs). Are you guilty of accepting the other party’s terms without properly reading through them?

Equally important is having your own well-drafted T&Cs, and using them effectively, based on how you do business. Take control and ensure business (whether as buyer or seller) is on your terms.

Why T&Cs matter

Think of your T&Cs as your business’s safety net. They protect you when:

• A customer / client delays payment or refuses to pay altogether.
• The scope of work is disputed, or expectations change mid-project.
• A service or deliverable doesn’t go to plan and blame starts to circulate.

What T&Cs can do for you

They protect you by:

• Clarifying payment obligations: how and when you expect to be paid, and what happens if payment is late.
• Defining scope and performance: what’s included in your services or deliverables, and what’s not.
• Setting limits on your liability: protecting you from disproportionate claims.
• Providing certainty in disputes: specifying how disagreements will be resolved.
• Supporting compliance and professionalism: showing clients and partners that you take your obligations seriously.

Without well-drafted T&Cs, your business is left exposed. You might end up relying on assumptions or verbal agreements, which don’t stand up under any real scrutiny.

Common misconceptions

We often hear from clients that:

• “We’ve always done it on trust.”
• “We don’t need them, nobody reads them.”
• “Our clients would never cause problems.”

In reality, even long-standing relationships can become difficult when there’s nothing in writing to fall back on. Clear, fair, and professional terms don’t just protect you legally, they also enhance your credibility and make your working relationships smoother.

When things go wrong

For Example:
A recruitment agency successfully places a candidate, but the client later claims the placement “wasn’t suitable” and refuses to pay. The agency has no written terms confirming the guarantee period, refund policy, or what “suitable” means. After weeks of chasing and dispute, the agency writes off the invoice (and learns that goodwill isn’t a substitute for a contract!)

Contrast that with another agency whose T&Cs clearly set out payment terms, replacement guarantees, and a defined process for disputes. When faced with the same situation, their T&Cs protected them, meaning they were paid in full.

How Bhayani Law can help

The Company & Commercial team at Bhayani Law can review your existing T&Cs to ensure they are truly fit for purpose. Your terms should reflect how you do business.
Whether you provide professional services, supply staff, manage projects, sell products, or do business in some other way, a “one size fits all” template is very rarely an adequate solution.

If updates are needed, we can draft bespoke Terms & Conditions that work for your company.

So, it’s time to think- do you have clear T&Cs in place? If not, now is the time to put them right. Contact our team at [email protected] or call 0333 888 1360 for Terms & Conditions tailored to the needs of your company.