Writing terms and conditions is a difficult and perhaps tedious job. But it is important to protect your business to retain goodwill and to avoid losing customers through misunderstandings. Here are some tips to do the job effectively.
This article could have just as easily been entitled ‘writing privacy statements’, ‘writing disclaimers’ or 'writing legal material for websites'. The guidelines you will find on these linked pages apply to them all.
Two years ago Norwich Union found that a third of its insurance customers had not read the policy detail. Of those who did, 20% said they did not understand everything that they read.
Go Compare, the on-line comparison service, in another survey found that some 6 million people faced problems due to not reading small print when buying financial products, electrical goods or mobile phones. This can cost them hundreds of pounds as a result.
If terms and conditions are well written this can prevent misunderstandings, lost customers and avoid unexpected legal costs in future.
Thinking of your audience
Essentially we need to think of our typical readers and write to them as if they are sitting in front of us. This will affect the words we use, the way we say it and prevent us sounding ponderous and boring.
People will turn to a web page and make an instant decision as to whether they are going to read it. If it’s too long they will often link to the next page. So the first rule is keep the material as short as possible.
The text should be written to mirror the average reading age in the UK which is about 12 years old. That roughly matches a tabloid such as the Daily Mail.
English a second language?
Partly due to foreign worker immigration, we must also allow for the fact that English may be a second language to some of your site visitors. So you need to keep everything simple. Follow these links for lots more tips:
Finding the right words
Setting the text out clearly
What to include in your terms and conditions
Creating a positive impression
If terms and conditions are well written this can prevent misunderstandings, lost customers and avoid unexpected legal costs in future.
Once you have drafted your text, it is advisable to have it checked over by a solicitor who practices in business law. They may be aware of loopholes that you need to guard against.
So that’s about it. I hope you have found this article helpful - I have also collated a number of useful links which you may want to follow up.
Our inhouse, public and elearning courses all address writing clear English and have been used by legal departments to improve the standard of legal writing.