Who's Responsibility?

Becky

I am self employed and have signed up to be a reseller for a print company.

They provide a site to me and I drive people to it. Payment is made via the site and goes straight to the printer. At the start of the next month, I receive commission if it is over a certain amount.

If something goes wrong and the printer does not deliver the goods, or there is a problem with the items, who is responsible in law?

I am worried that I would take the fall, even though I do not provide the service, I am just the face for the printer. They have their own site but offer the reseller programme so you can get printing at a trade price plus the opportunity to generate money through the reseller site they provide (you brand it to your own style).

Here are the terms on the website. It was devised by the printer and was automatically inputted into our site without us seeing it. I have not altered anything other than replacing my real website name with MY WEBSITE NAME and the printers ltd name with PRINTER BUSINESS NAME for the purpose of posting on this site.

‘MY WEBSITE NAME' is the trading name of PRINTER BUSINESS NAME.
Goods means the articles or things described in the contract between MY WEBSITE NAME and the purchaser.
These conditions shall be deemed to be incorporated in all contracts of MY WEBSITE NAME to sell goods and in the case of any inconsistency with any order or form of contract sent by the purchaser to MY WEBSITE NAME whatever may be their respective dates the provision of these Conditions shall prevail unless expressly varied in writing and signed by a director on behalf of MY WEBSITE NAME.
Notwithstanding that MY WEBSITE NAME may have given a detailed quotation no order shall be binding on MY WEBSITE NAME unless and until it has been accepted in writing by MY WEBSITE NAME.
Any times or dates given for completion or delivery of goods shall be binding on MY WEBSITE NAME, insofar as MY WEBSITE NAME undertake to carry out additional work for the purchaser to the value of the print element of any goods not supplied on time. Such liability shall not extend to delays beyond the control of MY WEBSITE NAME including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing defects in files or omissions of information delays in approval of proofs and non-performance of carriers.
By their nature goods do not have a redeemable value and no refunds or credits for goods correctly supplied will be entertained.
Payment of goods
All goods shall be paid for at the time of order.
No goods shall be dispatched or collection allowed until paid for in full.
All prices are exclusive of Value Added Tax and this will be charged at the appropriate rate.
Quality & Liability
Any shortcomings or defects in goods supplied must be notified to MY WEBSITE NAME within 3 days of delivery. Such goods must be returned to MY WEBSITE NAME for inspection.
Nothing herein shall impose any liability upon MY WEBSITE NAME in respect of any defect in the goods arising out of the acts, omissions, negligence or default of the purchaser, its servants or agents including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing handling and storage of the goods.
Nothing herein shall have the effect of excluding or restricting the liability of MY WEBSITE NAME:
death or personal injury resulting from its negligence insofar as the same is prohibited by U.K. statute, or;
Under sections 12,13,14 and 15 of the Sales of Goods Act 1979 to a purchaser who is dealing with a customer (as defined by section 12 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977).
MY WEBSITE NAME shall not be liable for any costs, claims or damage arising out of any act of tort or omission or breach of contract or statutory duty calculated by reference to profits, income production or accruals or loss of such profits, income production or accruals or by reference to accrual of such, claim, damages or expenses on a time basis.
The liability of MY WEBSITE NAME to the purchaser for any loss or damage of whatsoever nature and howsoever caused shall be limited to and in no circumstances exceed the price of the goods.
If the purchaser shall be in breach of any of their obligations under the contract MY WEBSITE NAME may (without prejudice to MY WEBSITE NAME's rights subsequently to determine the contract for the same cause should it so decide) suspend further deliveries of goods without notice until any defaults by the purchaser are remedied.
No statement, description, information, warranty or recommendation contained in any catalogue, price list, advertisement or communication or made verbally by any of the agents or employees of MY WEBSITE NAME shall be construed to enlarge, vary or override in any way these conditions.
Any concessions made or latitude allowed by MY WEBSITE NAME to the purchaser shall not affect the strict rights of MY WEBSITE NAME under the contract. If in any particular case any of these conditions shall be held to be invalid or shall not apply to the contract the other conditions shall continue in full force and effect.
The contract shall in all respects be governed by English law and shall be deemed to have been made in England and the purchaser and MY WEBSITE NAME agree to submit to nonexclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
MY WEBSITE NAME retains all copyright for inclusive design until such time as the customer pays for in full the goods. Upon full payment being received the copyright becomes the property of the customer.

On email receipts that are sent upon order, it states this at the top:

PRINTER NAME
t/a MY WEBSITE NAME
MY ADDRESS 10 a place
MY ADDRESS Somewhere
MY ADDRESS sometown
MY ADDRESS POSTCODE


Is this cleverly worded to make me the fall guy? I am also confused that they can put their company name as a trading name of me. Is that right?

Thanks for any help!

Willman_Rodders

Hi becky,

Agency Law and Contract law are not my areas of specialism, though many years ago I did study [briefly] these topics. As no one else has responded to your post though here are my thoughts ...

The correspondence provided by PRINTER BUSINESS NAME (PBN hereafter) states clearly that your website MY WEBSITE NAME (MWN hereafter) is the trading name of PBN. Likewise the terms and conditions reiterates that MWN is the trading name of PBN. This is important as it lets any purchaser know they are dealing with a limited company, rather than you personally.

However, two further points...
1. What does the website imply. Is your personal name splattered across the site? Is there anyway in which a purchaser could think they are dealing personally with you, rather than MWN (who in turn is the trading name of PBN)? You are acting as the agent here of PBN, but if you claim to be the supplier (rather than the agent) I recall from my studies you may be sucked into the contract, and therefore potentially liable for breach of contract if your printer fails to deliver the goods to the standard expected.
2. Does the website list the companies registered head office anywhere? There has been a change in legislation recently that [I recall] required all companies to quote their head office address, not that of the agent. Again, the objective is to make it clear to prospective customers who they are actually dealing with. Quoting your address on invoices/correspondence may be in breach of this legislation, and may give the impression to a purchaser they are dealing with you, albeit as a limited company.

As stated earlier I am not a specialist in this area. My suggestions would be...
1. Approach your local Business Link. They should be able to offer guidance on the recent changes to legislation regarding displaying addresses; and
2. Approach a solicitor for clarification of the terms of the contract as shown in your post. It might cost you a small fee, but it should also give you peace of mind. At the same time I would ask him/her to review the contract you have with PBN (re commission payments etc) as you may be more vulnerable there, rather than via the website's terms and conditions.

Hope that helps.