website

[victor]

i have recently started my own website, but how do i go about getting term and condition and privacy for my site solicitor fees are too costly, can i copy term and condition from a similar site and rectify it?
i have started a community site in which we will be collecting information and will be looking to sell this on, do i need to register for any data protection acts?

Thank you

[Shellfish]

Hello StudentPark,

Yes, I do know the feeling about solicitors fees being expensive - I'm a web based business too and my terms and conditions cost me quite a bit. I had to go to a solicitor because I needed very specific, bespoke ones, but if your website is fairly straighforward, you may be able to get away with an 'off the shelf' version. If you type something like 'terms and conditions template' into Google, you'll come up with lots of providers where you can download a basic boiler plate version for between £15 and £30.

Whatever you do though, please don't just copy someone else's terms and conditions. Content on the web is subject to copyright, so you could get your fingers badly burnt if you copy someone else's and they spot it. You could take the attitude that they probably won't spot them, but believe me, it's a very real risk - I have a friend with a website who recently sued someone for stealing their terms and conditions and won the case (and a substantial amount of money). It really isn't worth running this type of risk for the sake of saving as little as £15.

Data protection is a minefield, and I'm not an expert, but the basic answer to your question is yes - if you're planning to sell data to third parties, you need to have got the permission of your customers/registrants and also to be registered with the Data Commissioner. You can read more about it at http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/

I hope this helps, and good luck with your business,

Shellfish