James Thornton, a Partner in RRP Associates ’ Commercial Dispute Resolution Team will talk about lenders, why they insist on personal guarantees, what are the implications and the borrowers’ obligations.

This event will be popular and we recommend you reserve your place as soon as possible. To guarantee a place please click on the link to register.

http://bit.ly/2PpoaW3

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Manage the risk

Do you know your client? Review your client’s credit – consider whether they would be prepared to complete a credit reference agency report or bank report.  It is easier to do this now than later on down the line when you are trying to gather evidence to enforce a debt.  However, this could be off putting for the client, particularly if the relationship is new so look at other resources and do your own research; websites like Red Flag and Companies House are a good starting point. Ask your own contacts whether they have had any dealings with this client.

Terms and conditions

Review them now. What are your terms and conditions? Do you even have any and are they clear, up to date or could they be misinterpreted? Make sure the client knows what they are. Do they benefit you and are they favourable to you i.e. consider shorter payment terms.

Set out clearly the scope of the work so the client is clear what is included (and not included) and ensure you make it clear what the costs will be if you are required to do work beyond the scope of the agreement.

Prepare to be flexible and negotiate with your client, particularly if the contract is of importance and you want to get off on the right footing. Ensure that the terms and conditions deal with retention of title, payment periods and interest for late payment and that they comply with legislation. Make sure there is a provision to vary the contract, ideally in writing, to avoid any later disputes. Finally, review your terms and conditions every 6 -12 months and update your clients on any changes.

Be prompt

Send your invoice as soon as the work is completed. If you are prompt with your bills, your clients are more likely to be prompt paying them. Ensure there is a written record of the bill being sent. If there any disputes over the work or the goods or the price the issue will hopefully be brought to light quickly rather than months down the line. If the work is likely to be long term, agree a payment plan with the client which helps them to manage their cash flow and helps you to manage yours; perhaps consider billing them in the middle of the month and at the end of the month.

Chase debts

Do not put this off. Strike while the iron is hot! You have carried out the work/supplied the goods and you are entitled to be paid.  Be polite, chase the client in person and discuss the reasons for late payment – sometimes there are legitimate reasons. Formulate a strategy to chase debtors and decide who in your business is going to take responsibility for chasing debts.  Ensure that you add on interest; that way the client may think twice about late payment next time. Make a note of any conversations regarding late payment as these may come in useful later on if the debt needs to be enforced.  On the 12th day after the invoice was due, step it up and request payment of the debt formally by letter or email, keep a record of the request and make it clear on what date you expect payment to be made. If that fails, and you reach the 19th day after the invoice was due, cease work, recall the goods (if the contract allows you to) and proceed with writing a letter of claim – this is a letter before taking Court action giving the client one final opportunity to pay up.

Keep on top of managing debt. If clients think you are not bothered about being paid, and being paid promptly, then they won’t be bothered either. Be proactive, not reactive and if all else fails consider taking specialist legal advice.

James Thornton, Partner and Solicitor in our Commercial Dispute Resolution Team can offer advice in relation to debts and the best way to enforce them.  Alternatively, if you want to tighten up your terms and conditions, Nesta Gresham a Consultant in our Commercial Team can provide your business with an MOT to ensure it is protected and operating effectively. Julian and Nesta and their teams can be contacted on 01582 878526

The post Less debt, more cash appeared first on RRP Associates.

Consequently, later on when you begin to raise money or enter into large commercial agreements, these overlooked points can lead to much larger problems.

Below I’ve listed a few things you should ideally get in place early on which could help you avoid costly disputes:

1.       Documenting your shareholding structure

Starting a company is quite straight forward as well as issuing initial shares as these shares have nominal value therefore having few tax implications.   However, where an investor comes along suddenly the company and the shares have added value and they are no longer free to move around.  The shareholders may have agreed to share the equity equally however this is not always documented from the outset and the shares are often still in the original shareholders name.  When trying to transfer these shares at a later stage this can become very expensive as there could be tax to pay on the transfer of the shares.  It is therefore important that shares and entitlements are documented from the outset to try and prevent such issues arising at a later stage.

2.       Ensuring there is a shareholder agreement in place

It is not uncommon for companies to overlook the importance of a shareholder agreement especially when starting a new business. However, failing to have this agreement in place can cause considerable problems in the future. A shareholder agreement is an agreement that structures the relationship between the shareholders of the company. A well drafted shareholder agreement should outline each party’s expectations with clear rules that describe the relationship between the shareholders and outline how the company is to be managed.

A shareholder agreement can also address and protect minority shareholder interests by prescribing a fair method of valuation and a course of action to be followed upon the sale of the shares.

Moreover, a shareholder agreement can include other basic measures to ensure a smooth process and fair outcome for all shareholders for example:

a.       Disposing of Shares; shareholders may agree that any transferor disposing of shares have to first offer them to the existing shareholders.

b.      Shareholder Approvals; shareholders may agree certain transactions within the business need all member approvals whereas other transactions may only need a smaller percentage of the members to agree.

c.       Restrictions; shareholders may think it sensible that all members should not carry on any similar business activities in any other company that is similar and or in competition with their company.  This would limit any potential conflict of interests.

d.      Dividend Policy; shareholders may want to agree to a certain type of dividend policy for example, dividends can only be paid after taxation payments have been paid, a certain amount of profits have been made or not before a business loan has been paid off.

3.       Roles;  Who does what? Who owns what?

More often than not new companies are never clear from the outset on who does what or who owns what.  One person may put in more money and the other may be the one putting in more time.  Sometimes a simple co-founder agreement could assist that clearly defines what the business does and who owns what.  In this instance a solicitor isn’t always needed.  Simply putting this on a piece of paper that all parties agree to and sign can be enough to get you started. If ever a disagreement arose this is something all parties could refer to and help clear up any potential legal disputes.

4.       Trade names and logos

Trademark registration is also something you should consider. It may be worth asking an expert to advise on whether registrations only in the UK and or other countries are also needed.  A company’s goodwill will become more and more valuable as a business grows and becomes more successful.  It is therefore imperative to protect this from the outset so you are in a strong position in stopping anyone attempting to use your company name or logo.  Trademarks can also open the way for business expansion over time from one industry to another.  It could also make your company attractive to others and could lead to the acquisition of your company by a larger corporation.

There are other intellectual property rights that should not be overlooked for example, design rights, patents and copyrights.  It is always advisable to seek legal advice early on to ensure your business is adequately protected from the outset.

If you have any questions regarding the best ways to protect your business, regardless of whether you have just started trading or not, please feel free to contact me where I would be happy to assist.

Contact Nesta Gresham on 01908 355770 or by email nesta.gresham@rrpassociates.co.uk

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If you wish to take back possession of the property you must give written notice under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 setting out the grounds for possession before you can start legal proceedings.  These can be mandatory grounds for example, the Tenant is more than 2 months in arrears with rent or discretionary grounds, for example consistent late payment of rent.

On expiry of the Section 8 notice, anywhere between 2 weeks to 2 months, you will be entitled to start legal proceedings for possession under the standard procedure. If you are applying on a mandatory ground it is likely the Court will grant you a possession order at the hearing.  However, if the Tenant suddenly makes a payment which brings the total rent arrears to less than 2 months then the mandatory ground will fall away. This means you will be left with only a discretionary ground for possession and whether or not a possession order is granted is entirely at the Court’s discretion.

Some Landlords don’t realise that a Section 21 notice can also be served giving the Tenant 2 months to vacate the property, providing you have served on the Tenant all the required documentation (for example, EPC Certificate, Gas Safety Certificate and the Government’s ‘how to rent’ Guide) which ensures that the notice is valid.  If there is no written Tenancy Agreement you cannot apply to the Court using this Section alone but you can use this Section as an alternative if the Court decides not to grant you possession based on a discretionary ground.

Adil Patel, a Trainee Solicitor with RRP Associates currently training in our Civil and Commercial Dispute Resolution Team says “It is not always necessary to have a written agreement in place and not having one does not mean you are prevented from regaining possession of your property.  It is important to  ensure you have complied with any applicable conditions and  ensure the restrictions do not apply to you prior to serving the notice.  An invalid notice can delay the process which means waiting for the notice to expire before starting the process again.  I recommend Landlords take legal advice at the start of the process to ensure possession is regained at the earliest opportunity ina t cost effective way”.

If you are considering regaining possession of a property, with or without a written Tenancy Agreement in place contact Adil Patel on 0845-RRP -0000 or James Thornton on 0845-RRP -8807.

The post A Brief Guide to Regaining Possession of your Property appeared first on RRP Associates.

A solicitor that can accommodate you outside of 9-5, Monday – Friday?

Our London Office will be open on Saturday mornings from 10am-12pm for personal attendances or prearranged appointments so if you need to pop something in to us please feel free to come over.

Our office is situated on the Churchill Place, London, E14 5EU.

Please note that only our London Office will be open on a Saturday morning

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A Ban on Tenants’ Fees

The Tenants Fee Bill is currently going through Parliament and is likely to become law in the spring subject to any major political upheavals.

If the bill becomes law then it will remove letting agents’ charges to tenants. They will only be required to pay their rent and deposit when they sign up to a new tenancy. These changes mean that additional fees such as carrying out inventory and reference checks will no longer be allowed, although landlords will still be able to charge for replacing lost keys by tenants or for late payment of rent. The letting agents my still wish to charge for these services but these costs will have to be paid by the landlord. This could obviously lead to higher rents in order for the landlords to recoup some of these costs.

A Cap of Tenants’ Deposits

The Act is likely also to put a cap on how much tenants should have to pay for damage deposits at the start of the tenancy. Up until now there has been no cap on these deposits. The Government has proposed a maximum cap of five weeks rent for properties where the annual rent is less than £50,000. If the rent is more than £50,000 the deposit would be a maximum of six weeks rent.

Three Year Tenancies

The Government is also in consultation at the moment to consider introducing a three year tenancy term, with a six month break clause which means you could serve notice after six months. The aim is to give greater security to families who are in the rental market. However, there are concerns that should they introduce such a measure it could put off potential property investors as it give them less flexibility with their investment portfolio. This could be one step too far for the Government who may decide not to proceed with such a strategy.

“It’s interesting times for landlords going into the New Year. Clearly the Government is trying to protect the interests of tenants in view of the housing crisis but the measures proposed could very well have the opposite effect by reducing the rental market by putting off potential landlords and even pushing up rents. We will obviously have to watch this space.” James Thornton Partner.

If you have any queries in respect of the above, please do not hesitate to contact James Thornton of RRP Associates LLP on 0845-RRP -0000 or via email at legal@rrpassociates.co.uk

The post What could 2019 have in store for Residential Landlord and Tenants? appeared first on RRP Associates.

Ofcom has been concerned over BT’s ability to favour its retail business when making investment decisions in Openreach i.e. not investing enough money in the UK’s broadband infrastructure. If Openreach was split from BT it would become a distinct company with its own board with no affiliation with BT and would have control over its own budget and have to treat all its customers (i.e. other broadband providers) equally.

BT has been in negotiations since July of this year in order to try and address Ofcom’s concerns, however Ofcom believe that they have not voluntarily addressed the competition concerns. BT dispute this by saying that its proposals were “fair and reasonable”. The Regulator is now preparing a formal notification to the European Commission to start the process of separating the two business. Having said this, the negotiations between Ofcom and BT still continue in order to try and resolve this situation voluntarily.

The proposed action of Ofcom has been supported by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport which said Openreach “needs to offer genuine fair and equal access to the country’s telecoms infrastructure to BT’s competitors”.

James Thornton, a Litigation specialist at leading and award-winning regional law firm RRP Associates says “Clearly it appears all concerned parties are in support of the proposed split however at the moment BT have not gone far enough. The fact that Ofcom have referred the matter to the European Commission will increase the pressure on BT to split the two companies or come up with a proposal that is acceptable to everyone. We will just have to wait and see”.

The post BT Ordered By Ofcom To Split Legally From Openreach appeared first on RRP Associates.

Cathy Sandbach, a Litigation specialist at leading and award-winning regional law firm RRP Associates says “It is likely that tenants in England will welcome this news – when put together with a deposit, tenants frequently have to find a significant sum of money before they can even get a tenancy agreement in place – which can also be difficult if they are still waiting on their deposit being released from a previous tenancy following a checkout appointment.

“However, it is likely that these administration costs will be passed onto landlords instead, who will also need to take into account any percentage charge on rent collected into consideration.  This may factor in an increased level of competition in the letting agent market, with letting agents needing to consider how they can best survive and run a profitable business”

“There have been a number of increased costs for landlords recently – with increased taxes applicable to buy to let properties – so in some cases landlords who need to use letting agents may find that they have to increase the rent to ensure that they cover their costs.  After all, landlords usually want to make a profit as well – landlords will continue to need to factor in the possibility of court (and legal) costs in the event that they have problems with a tenant, or if a possession order is needed for any reason and will want to continue letting agents to manage their properties, and still provide services like checking tenant references, as well as ensuring that deposits are adequately protected, so that the landlord’s own risk in letting out the property is reduced”

The post Letting Agents Fees Banned appeared first on RRP Associates.

The fall out from the VW emissions scandal does not appear to be going away. The Mayor of London is seeking to recover £2.5m from the car maker on the basis that approximately 80,000 car owners have claimed that a vehicle qualified under the greener discount scheme is to be exempt from paying the charge as their vehicles emitted less than 100mg of CO2 per kilometre and met the Euro 5 standard. These car owners have inadvertently claimed when apparently they are not entitled to the discount.

VW at this stage are reluctant to make such a payment to the Transport for London and so the ball is firmly back with them. It will be interesting to see whether Transport for London are prepared to issue legal proceedings against VW to recover their alleged loss.

The post London Mayor Sadiq Khan Issues £2.5m VW Congestion Charge Call appeared first on RRP Associates.

Sometimes we’re just glad to get on a train home and forget about the hideous overcrowding because the last train was cancelled. If we are going on holiday, despite fractious tired children (and parents) you’re happy to at last be on the way to your holiday or homeward bound. At least a ferry might try and land at another port, although of course this could add miles to you getting to your destination.

Some form of actual compensation, rather than the bland excuse of ‘we’re sorry for any inconvenience caused’ will bring at least a grain of satisfaction to the hapless traveller. Catherine Sandbach, a Dispute Resolution  specialist solicitor at leading and award winning regional law firm RRP Associates says “There are a number of regulations in place that give delayed passengers some form of financial compensation. For airlines, that means that if your flight arrives at your destination more than three hours late you are entitled to claim, unless it was due to dangerously bad weather, strike action or a protest similar the one that took place at City Airport recently. There are different complaint organisations for different carriers and the details should be on the company’s website, all you need is your flight and booking confirmation details plus your boarding pass if you’ve kept it.

”Train travel is different, although if your last train home is cancelled you can claim for overnight accommodation. You can also claim for train delays although the time varies from different rail companies. Keep of all your receipts and you can find out how to claim at the station ticket office or on the rail company’s website.

“Although ferry companies aren’t  bound by law to pay compensation for delays due to strikes or bad weather, most of them want your business and to keep the customer happy. There is regulation for any delay that would be classed as being in the company’s control, such as staff shortages or a routine technical fault. However, it’s unlikely in all of these cases that you’ll get your money refunded in full.”

To speak to Catherine or one of her team call 0745 127 0008  or email info@rrpassociates.co.uk

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