This isn't legal advice, and we aren't lawyers. This page covers the practical side.
Being "liable" means you are the one who has to answer for a promise, and maybe pay for it if it goes wrong. Think of a shop. If a new member of staff tells a customer they can return a jacket any time, the customer expects the shop to keep that promise. It doesn't matter that the staff member got the rule wrong. An agent writing to your buyers works the same way.
What do people rely on that often doesn't hold up?
- A disclaimer the buyer never read. Say the promise was in an email and the disclaimer sits behind a link in your terms. Now you're arguing about which of the two the buyer could trust. That argument costs a lot.
- "The agent wasn't allowed to say that." This only helps if you wrote the limits down before the promise was made. If you didn't, it sounds like something you made up afterwards.
- "A person checks the important ones." This only helps if you can show which messages were checked, who checked them, and when.
What can I change?
You can't change who carries the risk. You can change what you are able to show. Say a buyer tells you your agent promised us March. You'll want quick answers to five questions.
| question | why it matters |
|---|---|
| what exactly was said? | so you can talk about the real sentence. People's memories of it will differ |
| which agent said it? | so you know which rules it was following |
| what was it relying on? | so you can see if the fact behind it was true at the time |
| who approved it, if anyone? | so the right person can answer for it |
| is it still open? | a promise nobody dealt with doesn't run out. It just sits there and waits |
What can I do this week?
Write down the facts your agents are allowed to repeat. Put a person's name and a date next to each one. You don't need us for that. When we tried this with one person who knew their product well, it took an afternoon.
How Reynforce helps
Reynforce keeps that record for you. Every promise an agent checks shows up in Activity. You can see:
- what was said, and which agent said it
- the fact it relied on, and whether that fact was up to date
- who approved it
Your Rules say what each agent is allowed to promise, and a person signs those rules off.
When Reynforce is the wrong choice
- You want someone to take the risk off you. No tool can do that. Talk to your lawyer and your insurer.
- Your agents only write drafts, and a person sends every message. Then the person is the one making the promise. Come to us when you want that to change.
What it costs
£99 per agent a month for your first 10 agents. After that it's £79 for each agent, up to 49. If you pay for a year at once, you get two months free. If you'd like us to do the setup and sign-off with you, that starts at £2,500, paid once, and the price depends on the agent's job. Pricing has the rest.
What to do when an agent promises something you can't deliver covers the day it happens.