“Mad on Borrowing” is an anagram of “I am Gordon Brown” – that is all you need to remember the UK Government’s 2009 Budget.
With thanks to Sue Cameron at the Financial Times - which also has the best coverage of the Budget details.
Whenever there is a business turn-down, the risk of insolvency increases – and an insolvent customer increases the risks for those who deal with him.
In a recent case involving the Ford Motor Company, a question arose concerning VAT on goods that were not paid for. Ford supplied cars to a dealer and issued an invoice for the cars and the VAT. Under Ford’s contract with the dealer, Ford had the right to re-possess the cars if they weren’t paid for and so, when the dealer got into financial difficulty and had an administrative receiver appointed, Ford took back the cars. Ford also issued a credit note to the dealer for the VAT and then claimed a refund of the VAT from HMRC.
The administrative receivers of the dealer also got involved on the VAT issue and the case went to the Court of Appeal. The Court said that it was not up to Ford to unilaterally issue a credit note: a supply (of the cars) had taken place and the liability to pay the VAT would only be cancelled if the terms agreed between Ford and the dealer provided for the contract to be cancelled if Ford repossessed the cars.
Lawyers are now advising companies to have a suitable cancellation clause in their contracts, otherwise they might still have to pay VAT on goods in circumstances similar to that in the Ford case.
ContractStore is pleased to say that our Conditions of Sale already have a cancellation clause of the type recommended by the Court of Appeal.
The moral is: protect your business – use a ContractStore contract.
One of our recent customers contacted us for help while creating a bespoke childcare company, Flying Tots Ltd, predominantly to care for the children of airline staff. After carefully researching crew and pilots’ needs over the past year, Sharon Bastien found that airline staff lose out on work due to a lack of childcare. Sharon also discovered that because airline crew work ‘irregular hours’ from day-to-day, they could not be accommodated by most agencies.
So the enterprising Ms Bastien designed a unique company, employing professional, flexible nannies to care for children of airline staff. The company will also serve high-flying career professionals whose work demands ‘out of the norm’ or long hours. Clients use the service on an ‘ad hoc’ basis, as and when needed. The considerable press coverage on the business has been very positive and has generated many enquiries.
Sharon got in touch to share her story about how ContractStore has helped her get the business off the ground:
“I found ContractStore’s website in 2008 and I used it to prepare two contracts, one for the clients who required a nanny, and one for the nannies I employ. I did not anticipate that these contracts would require so many clauses and details, of which I was not even aware. However, I was able to obtain two excellent contracts, perfect for the job that meets all the legal obligations and were great value.
“I am very passionate about excellent customer service inside and outside my business. I felt I was always receiving undivided attention – excellent customer service in fact. Our business relationship has grown and I can recommend anyone to use ContractStore .”
“The specialist services we provide are for working parents, whose job requires them to work a shift pattern. These are parents are experiencing great difficulty with finding childcare when having to attend work, for long periods at a time. Flying Tots, now with the introduction of our service to high career workers and business professionals ‘takes off’ to a flying start.”
Visit the Flying Tots website:www.flyingtots.co.uk
