FINANCE
GETTING THE DEAL DONE AND COVERING
YOURSELF LEGALLY SO YOU GET PAID
By Staff Writers
C
ontracts are, by their very nature, de-
signed to protect two or more parties from
each other and to hold them accountable.
Unfortunately, contracts can be used to un-
dermine and hurt the parties that they were
supposed to protect. You have to balance
the risk between being legally covered and
getting the deal done. We often say that a
one-page contract with 2 or 3 of our safe-
guards in it is safer than a 10-page con-
tract with every addendum known to man
hidden in it. Our clients come to us for help
on their collections because the majority
of them are very experienced in sales and
marketing but not so much on the legal or
administrative side. So, in order to help,
we are going to share the three things you
can do when signing agreements to protect
themselves legally.
1.
Outline a possessory period- This should go
without saying, but always include a specifically stated
possessory period to protect your collateral until the
conditions of the agreement have been met.
2. Make sure that all of the wording in the document is
the same- Many times the terms of the contract will be
slightly altered after it is drawn up and some of the word-
ing is changed. Go through the rest of the document and
check for any contradicting terms; if you are not careful,
you may void yourself out of your own contract.
3.
Get a signature- This is incredibly important! We
have seen time and time again where our client will not
get the contract signed, for one excuse or another, and
when it came time to collect, the debtor’s attorney fought
the collection in court. There is NO EXCUSE for not
getting a contract signed.
We may be beating a dead horse, but you will not believe how many times clients come to us because they failed to get
a contract signed. We have been in business for 30 years and, in all that time, we have never worked on a collection
without a signed contract. The reason this is so important, especially in our business, is because if there are not agreed
upon terms and conditions then we can be accused of bank fraud for collecting funds from our clients. If you are not
going to get a signature, which we beg you to do, at least have a documented record that everyone knew what the
recruiter is doing. We have heard all the arguments from debtors’ attorneys: there was never a discussion to pay for the
service or the recruiting firm was acting out of the goodness of their heart when they sent candidates to a client. Yes,
we really have heard that and even worse is that it held up in court.
Protect yourself and your business by following our three suggestions: outline a possessory period, check that all of the
wording is the same, and get a signature. If you need help with your contracts or want legal advice, contact Samantha
Cole at [email protected].
Key Takeaways
Quote 1: If you are not careful, you may void yourself out of your own contract.
Quote 2: There is NO EXCUSE for not getting a contract signed.
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