Are Your Website T&Cs a Liability? The Simple Fixes Every Online Business Needs

Let’s be honest. When was the last time you read another company’s Terms and Conditions? Most people click "Accept" without a second thought. But for your business, those neglected digital documents can quickly become an expensive liability.

We see it all the time: businesses scaling fast with T&Cs that were either copied from a template or written years ago and haven't kept pace with their product.

Think of your website documentation not as tedious paperwork, but as an insurance policy against customer disputes, regulatory fines, and unexpected costs. Here’s a quick guide to getting your digital house in order.

Your website T&Cs provide a vital opportunity to mitigate key risks for your business

The Big Three: Understanding the Essential Documents

Before we dive into the fixes, let’s clear up the confusion. Businesses often mix up the required documentation. They are not interchangeable:

• 1. Privacy Policy: This is a legal requirement (hello, UK GDPR) and is typically supplemented by a separate cookie policy. It tells users what personal data you collect, why you collect it, and what their rights are. If you collect any names, emails, or IP addresses (which you almost certainly do), you need one.

  
  

• 2. Terms of Use: This is your contract with the visitor when they use your website or platform (e.g., browsing, using your free app, commenting). It covers things like acceptable use, intellectual property rights, and user-generated content rules.

  
  

• 3. Terms & Conditions (T&Cs) / Terms of Sale: This is your contract with the customer when they buy something from you (a product, a subscription, a service). It covers things like pricing, payment, delivery, refunds, and warranties.

  
  

If you sell online, you need all three. If you just have a brochure site, you may only need 1 and 2.

Your T&Cs Health Check: 3 Common Fixes

Your documentation needs to reflect your actual business operations, not just generic concepts. Here are the three most common liabilities we fix for our clients:

1. The Refund Policy Mismatch

Does your website promise "14-day hassle-free returns" but your T&Cs vaguely refer to statutory rights? Or worse, do your T&Cs contradict what your checkout page says? This is a fast track to a consumer dispute and potential breach of consumer law.

• The Fix: Ensure your Refund, Exchange, and Cancellation clauses perfectly match the promises you make elsewhere on your site. Don't promise what you can't legally or logistically deliver.

  
  

2. IP Ownership Ambiguity

If you deliver bespoke services (like design, consulting, or development), who owns the intellectual property (IP) at the end of the project? If your T&Cs don't explicitly state that the IP transfers upon final payment, or clearly define what IP the client is licensing, you are heading for a fight down the line.

• The Fix: Include a clear clause on IP Assignment or Licensing. Be specific about if and when any rights pass. If rights pass, be clear about whether you retain any rights to use the background IP or even the developed work.

  
  

3. The Unenforceable Liability Clause

Many template T&Cs attempt to exclude all liability for everything, forever. Guess what? Courts don't like that. In England & Wales, you can't exclude liability for everything, especially fraud or death caused by negligence. Trying to exclude too much may render the entire clause void.

• The Fix: Consider Replacing the blanket exclusion with a clear cap on liability. At the very least, consider whether the exclusions in your limitation of liability clause are enforceable. This is the one term that could save you from an expensive claim.

  
  

An Opportunity to Protect Your Business

Your T&Cs provide an essential opportunity to mitigate legal and regulatory risk. Don't let your T&Cs be the Achilles' heel of your growing business.

Ready to trade generic copy/paste terms for robust, commercially sensible documents? We specialise in drafting privacy policies, website terms of use, and terms and conditions that are clear, legally sound, and actually protect your business.