Reading the 'fine print' on a multiple page contract can induce headaches in most people. That being said, as a business owner you will discover, if you have not already, that when things go sideways, the devil is indeed in the details.
Your expertise in the products or services provided by your business are your avenue to success. Arbitration clauses, indemnification provisions, and attorneys fees allocations are some of the things that only really matter when things go wrong. However, they are nearly always determined by what is agreed up front, when neither party to a contract wants to appear too nit-picky or to give the appearance of thinking things might later go wrong. Much like a prenup has to be drawn up in advance of the wedding when the parties have the leverage to negotiate, so attention to the boilerplate has to be given at the outset. But there's a way to handle this that will ease the inherent tension that comes when working out the details of how to resolve a dispute long before any dispute can be visualized. Make your attorney the 'bad guy'- hand the proposed contract off to your counsel and they can do the work of reviewing it with your interests in mind, and by shoring up any weak provisions and ensuring fairness in the written agreement they can help ensure that you get what you intended from the agreement. Meanwhile you can continue to provide the excellent products or services that brought the other party to your door in the first place.
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The three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) are making significant changes in response to a recent report from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).[1] These changes may impact the way a lender searches for information in order to accurately assess an individual applicant’s credit-worthiness.
The CFPB has focused on the credit reporting function due to historical difficulties with duplicative or mixed file reporting, dispute handling, and accuracy in reporting on public records data such as judgments and tax liens. Because inaccuracies can impact access to credit for consumers, and may also impact how much the consumer will pay for the credit they do obtain, the CFPB prioritized a review of the reporting/amalgamating process done by the credit reporting agencies. Following the CFPB report, as of July 1, public records data will be excluded from consumer credit reports provided by the big 3 unless they meet certain criteria, including a minimum of personal identifying information, and courthouse visits of not less than every 90 days to update the records. It is expected that the vast majority of the existing records will not meet the new tests and will be deleted from existing reports. What does this mean for lenders? Additional diligence may be required in cases where the existence of a lien or judgment would be critical to the credit decision. Of course, the value of such diligence must be weighed against the cost and time involved in obtaining it. The loan size, type, and other information known about the applicant will no doubt be factors to consider. A lender will be well advised to revisit its written policies and take steps to ensure consistency in this, as in all aspects of the provision of credit. [1] https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201703_cfpb_Supervisory-Highlights-Consumer-Reporting-Special-Edition.pdf |
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