Posts By: Jane

When it comes to the sale of a small business, there are two ways it can be done. You can either sell the business yourself or use an agent. Agents go by several names such as: business transfer agents business sales agents business brokers commercial real estate agents (for selling freehold businesses) etc For larger… Read Article →

Some Agents Have Breached Property Ombudsman Regulations RTA are one of a few Business Transfer Agents – others are National Business Sales, Vendor Direct, Preferred Commercial, Advent, Meridian, Knightsbridge, Turner Butler, Sovereign, Hilton Smythe, Intelligent Business Transfer, Ernest Wilson (not an exhaustive list) – who either call themselves ‘Estate Agents’ or carry out transactions concerning… Read Article →

HMRC internal manual https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-supply-and-consideration/vatsc06730 VAT Supply and Consideration Breach of contract. It is also possible for leases and other agreements to terminate early if a particular event occurs such as the customer breaching the terms or the lessee or an associate business calling in receivers. The contract deems that such events cancel its terms or effectively… Read Article →

Timing 4.10 The customers’ identity and where applicable the identity of beneficial owners, must be verified before entering into a business relationship or occasional transaction. You can make an exception to when customer due diligence is carried out on any party to a sale only if both the following apply: ● it is necessary not… Read Article →

On 26 June 2017 The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (more commonly referred to as the Money Laundering Regulations 2017) came into force in the UK. These regulations supersede the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and subsequent amendments. Business ‘Sales’/Business Transfer agents are defined as carrying out Estate Agency… Read Article →

LANDLORDS INVOLVEMENT If you have been visited by one of the ‘Business Sale’ Agents, what the Business Agent may not tell you is that you will need your Landlord’s consent to assign the remainder of the Term on the Lease to any new owner of the Business. The Landlord will want to see References, and… Read Article →

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/04/budget-2017-chancellor-philip-hammond-announce-ban-baffling/ The small print problem is especially bad for financial products, such as insurance. According to one study by Fairer Finance, which applied a little-known formula called the “Flesch Kincaid” reading score to nearly 300 insurers’ documents, a third of all insurance policy documents are written in a language that is only understandable to people… Read Article →

AN UNCONSCIONABLE CONTRACT OR UNCONSCIONABLE CLAIM An unconscionable contract is one that is so one-sided that it is unfair to one party and therefore unenforceable under law. It is a type of contract that leaves one party with no real, meaningful choice. This is usually due to major differences in ‘bargaining power’ between the parties. “Inequality… Read Article →

Further to the RTA v Bracewell High Court case, LOST by RTA, readers should note that Judge Seymour QC used Council Directive 85/577/EC in deciding that Mr Bracewell was not a Consumer; BUT as you can see by the extract below from the actual Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (which came into force on… Read Article →

From: http://e-lawresources.co.uk/Unfair-Terms—Regulation-by-statute.php Intro In addition to the protection offered by the common law, there exists statutory protection from unfair terms in the form of the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977  and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 is a piece of primary legislation whereas the Unfair Terms in Consumer… Read Article →

In RTA’s Contracts there is usually a Clause about ‘Agreed’ Liquidated Damages. Well, did you Agree? According to various Judgments, the parties to a contract may or may not have had ‘equal bargaining power’. (See Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977). Was there any bargaining done before you entered what RTA term ‘an agreement’? Chances are,… Read Article →

To comply fully with The Money Laundering Regulations – since 1st April 2014 administered by HMRC as that is when the Office of Fair Trading ceased to exist – several  Judges have ruled that an Estate Agent (or a Business-sales agent) should comply with “Customer Due Diligence” measures to check the beneficial owner(s) of a… Read Article →

WAS THE BUSINESS TRANSFER AGENT THE EFFECTIVE CAUSE OF A SUCCESSFUL SALE? From: http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/98571/agents-battle-over-commission Enhanced pressure on agents is leading to disputes about whether or not any commission is actually due even where it is evident that an agent has committed a significant amount of time and effort in researching a property, advising on its… Read Article →

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/press-can-not-stopped-reporting-3835510 The story they didn’t want telling The case that a court minion and lawyer tried to keep secret concerned a notorious firm called RTA, which claims to market businesses that are for sale. Its latest target was Baron Marcus, who runs a hardware store called So Many Things at an age when most people… Read Article →

The latest legislation which came into force 13th June 2014 defines “off premises contracts” as   a contract for which an offer was made by the consumer in the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and the consumer, in a place which is not the business premises of the trader; For “trader” please read any… Read Article →

Business transfer agents: Time to crack down on rogue operators who demand money for nothing The Mirror’s investigative columnist Andrew Penman on the ongoing problem of agents who demand huge fees even when they fail to sell a small business Hit by the recession or maybe just retiring or moving on, there are countless owners… Read Article →

In the text below, please read “Business Marketing Agent” instead of “Bank” – it may help your defence. From: http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/33545/mis-selling-claim-springwell-navigation-corporation-v-jp-morgan-chase-bank The less sophisticated the investor is, the higher the duty of care of the bank (even in the making of opinions). Banks should continue the good practice of determining the investment criteria and risk profiles… Read Article →

“If companies like RTA tell you there is a buyer for your business, then beware!” is the headline in Andrew Penman’s Daily Mirror article – which follows: Wish I could make money this easily – £6,000 in just an hour and a half. That’s what Paul O’Reilly, the boss of a controversial firm of business… Read Article →

From: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31356/12-960-supply-of-services-impact.pdf Implied Terms When consumers buy a service, they enter into a contract with the business providing that service. Consumers can expect the service under the contract to be delivered with “reasonable care and skill” regardless of whether the contract make direct reference to the standard or not. The law states that “reasonable care… Read Article →

It is a requirement of the Money Laundering Regs 2007 that all Estate Agents MUST be registered with the OFT for Money Laundering purposes – this requirement has been in place since 2009. An unregistered Estate Agent is prohibited from undertaking Estate Agency business. Many Estate Agents chose not to do so, for whatever reason,… Read Article →