covering yourself (legally) in business

lawtz04

Hiya

I posted a thread a while ago asking advice on my idea for a small business (side earner type thing) of delivering small quantities of shopping to the elderly each week.

As this is likely to involve me first buying the shopping and them paying on delivery I am trying to think of a way to cover myself in case they say "i didnt order that".

Orginally I was going to make use of BTs free landline evening calls to call the night before delivery and take orders over the phone. Then I thought that unless I can some how record this I won't be able to prove what they ordered.

The other option is of course that they provide me with a list, but this means 2 journeys each week - one to pick up each customers list and one to deliver the shopping. How can I cover myself with this seemily necessary second trip??

elliep_2

Where will you be buying the groceries? If it's not too far away then you should be able to take most things back as long as they came in sealed packages. That way, especially if it's expensive items that cause the problem you can return them to the shop.
For smaller things I don't know what to suggest. phoning for an order, or getting a routine regular order (maybe with a phone call to check they don't want anything extra that week?) would probably be my method of choice. About the recorded calls, would you really want to play to an old lady the call that she made to you to prove that she ordered something she now says she doesn't want? I know this is the world of business but I'd find that really hard.

lawtz04

I would be likely to use a supermarket so everything is in one shop. I could introduce a rule like no item over £10 but then what if they want a £12 joint of meat.

Surely the shop would want a reason I was returning something? Unless I write to them before I start maybe to explain what im doing

Richard019

As a further thought, what are you delivering in?

I didn't think of it the first time but you mentioning the joint of meat has made it jump out. If you're delivering chilled items then unless you've got a refrigerated vehicle you need to get them from shop to home in less than 20 minutes.

If you were doing the shopping as a favour for a friend or whatever then you'd be alright as it's between the two of you, but if you're making money out of it you need to stick to the same rules as the supermarket (as you're effectively becoming a retailer).

lawtz04

Thanks Richard

I was intending to use cool bags for chilled items. I estimate shopping delivery will take in the region of an hour or so.