• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Idea for selling contracts templates and disclaimers to sign makers

G

grdshute

New Member
Hey everyone, before I start I want to just let you know that Fred gave me permission to post this as I recently ran a banner ad.

I've been a sign maker for a number of years, during this time I feel like I've had every possible thing go wrong, so I invest a lot of time and money into drafting disclaimers and getting my lawyer to draft legally binding contracts for me for things like removing fascias, installing wraps, neon, payment terms etc. Trust me when i say they are worth their weight in gold and they have saved my a** on multiple occasions!! I also find that if a customer doesn't want to sign a contract that is a major red flag and I probably dodged a bullet there which is an added bonus!

I've seen a lot of stressed out people ranting on this forum on the many forms of stupid we sadly have to deal with at times, many of which could have been avoided if you they had a procedure and/or got the customer to sign a contract or disclaimer. I've also seen a lot of fellow sign makers ask where to get disclaimers or educational sheets for the customer. My question to all of you is if I developed a line of contracts, disclaimers and educational products etc with the input of myself and other experienced sign makers, specifically for sign makers and maybe vehicle wrappers would you be interested? I'm sure some of the larger sign business owners on these forums already have contracts in place, but for the smaller guys they may be helpful, especially because you'd be saving money on paying a contract lawyer hundreds of pounds (or dollars :smile:). Plus I've added more and more detail to my documents as the years have gone by, so the newer guys will be protected from disasters that may not have even happened to them yet.

What do you think?? Please give me some honest feedback, it will be appreciated! :rock-n-roll:
 
sam gha

sam gha

MDGS
grdshute said:
Hey everyone, before I start I want to just let you know that Fred gave me permission to post this as I recently ran a banner ad.

I've been a sign maker for a number of years, during this time I feel like I've had every possible thing go wrong, so I invest a lot of time and money into drafting disclaimers and getting my lawyer to draft legally binding contracts for me for things like removing fascias, installing wraps, neon, payment terms etc. Trust me when i say they are worth their weight in gold and they have saved my a** on multiple occasions!! I also find that if a customer doesn't want to sign a contract that is a major red flag and I probably dodged a bullet there which is an added bonus!

I've seen a lot of stressed out people ranting on this forum on the many forms of stupid we sadly have to deal with at times, many of which could have been avoided if you they had a procedure and/or got the customer to sign a contract or disclaimer. I've also seen a lot of fellow sign makers ask where to get disclaimers or educational sheets for the customer. My question to all of you is if I developed a line of contracts, disclaimers and educational products etc with the input of myself and other experienced sign makers, specifically for sign makers and maybe vehicle wrappers would you be interested? I'm sure some of the larger sign business owners on these forums already have contracts in place, but for the smaller guys they may be helpful, especially because you'd be saving money on paying a contract lawyer hundreds of pounds (or dollars :smile:). Plus I've added more and more detail to my documents as the years have gone by, so the newer guys will be protected from disasters that may not have even happened to them yet.

What do you think?? Please give me some honest feedback, it will be appreciated! :rock-n-roll:
Click to expand...
n

Nice, I'll be the first one buying those kind of forms, I also spent a lot of time trying to create like those forms.
 
reQ

reQ

New Member
I think its a good idea if its well written contracts.

P.S. When someone says "Trust me" i don't trust them by default.
 
sam gha

sam gha

MDGS
grdshute said:
Thanks sam. Any more opinions?? Also, what would you like to see specifically?
Click to expand...

I would like to see a contract for channel letters sign from quoting to manufacturing with installation wraping up all the expected and non excpected hiden conditions.

Even responsibility electric connection.


Thanks in advance
 
G

grdshute

New Member
sam gha said:
I would like to see a contract for channel letters sign from quoting to manufacturing with installation wraping up all the expected and non excpected hiden conditions.

Even responsibility electric connection.


Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Thanks sam. I'm going to start with vehicles first but may get around to signs later on.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Do you have any contracts or advice on installing a sign, channels or whatever on someone's building with a balance check promised when proof of completion is sent in ??

If so, how does it handle if someone doesn't give the balance ??

What are your/our rights as for taking the signs or whatever, back down and repossessing them for some reason of fixing them or whatever ??

Can we legally take them down, once they are mounted to their building ?? Even though they are not paid for in full.... allegedly, can you or can you not set foot on their property for something not outlined in the contract ??

This comes up quite often. Does criminal law vs. civil law cross over lines ?? In other words, does one wrong make a right ?? Or two wrongs make a right ??
 
S

shoresigns

New Member
Gino said:
Do you have any contracts or advice on installing a sign, channels or whatever on someone's building with a balance check promised when proof of completion is sent in ??

If so, how does it handle if someone doesn't give the balance ??

What are your/our rights as for taking the signs or whatever, back down and repossessing them for some reason of fixing them or whatever ??

Can we legally take them down, once they are mounted to their building ?? Even though they are not paid for in full.... allegedly, can you or can you not set foot on their property for something not outlined in the contract ??

This comes up quite often. Does criminal law vs. civil law cross over lines ?? In other words, does one wrong make a right ?? Or two wrongs make a right ??
Click to expand...

Balance must be paid prior to delivery/install. Can't hurt to try a new store policy if you've been having issues getting paid.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
shoresigns said:
Balance must be paid prior to delivery/install. Can't hurt to try a new store policy if you've been having issues getting paid.
Click to expand...


No, you have it wrong. Not me. This is a basic story line heard right here at s101 all the time. :smile:
 
G

grdshute

New Member
Gino said:
Do you have any contracts or advice on installing a sign, channels or whatever on someone's building with a balance check promised when proof of completion is sent in ??

If so, how does it handle if someone doesn't give the balance ??

What are your/our rights as for taking the signs or whatever, back down and repossessing them for some reason of fixing them or whatever ??

Can we legally take them down, once they are mounted to their building ?? Even though they are not paid for in full.... allegedly, can you or can you not set foot on their property for something not outlined in the contract ??

This comes up quite often. Does criminal law vs. civil law cross over lines ?? In other words, does one wrong make a right ?? Or two wrongs make a right ??
Click to expand...

Regarding US, most of the states (as every state has different laws), it is considered that once the sign is attached to the walls, they are considered "permanent fixtures" and cannot be removed without a court order. You are no longer the owner of the sign once installed. If you proceed to remove it, then criminal charges might be levied against you. You can draft a provision regarding eventual repossession in any contract, however you would normally need a court order anyway to proceed, since the line between criminal and civil law is very thin in this case. Even though they are not paid for in full, once mounted they would not be considered YOUR property anymore. You can draft the provision I mention to make it a conditional sale, but most likely you would need a court order to be able to repossess the sign.
It is not advisable at all to proceed with the removing of the sign since it involves several violations. As Shoresigns said, the best thing to do is collecting the remaining balance before installation or delivery. That way, the client won't get the sign until they have paid so you're preventing any ugly situations from happening. :smile:
 
Get Lucky

Get Lucky

New Member
Being that you are from the UK I would be very careful about what you offer in the US in regards to legal advise and contracts.
You would need a licensed lawyer to offer contract here legally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top