Are TS Customer Specific Requirements considered "Terms and Conditions"?

[jcsnc]

There are persons in my company that seem to think that we can treat the customer specific requirements as "terms and conditions" of the purchase order. With their interpretation, when we send out our acknowledgements we legally override our customer's terms and therefore we are no longer bound to comply with the customer specific requirements. Has anyone ever heard of or been successful with this interpretation?

 

[qualityboi]

There are persons in my company that seem to think that we can treat the customer specific requirements as "terms and conditions" of the purchase order. With their interpretation, when we send out our acknowledgements we legally override our customer's terms and therefore we are no longer bound to comply with the customer specific requirements. Has anyone ever heard of or been successful with this interpretation?

We use a "T's and C's" document as applicable to warranties. However, these T's and C's do not over ride contractual agreements, especially concerning performance and reliability as advertised or contracted, ie, a contract is more powerful than a generic T and C statement. Since we are in a highly competitive environment we usually try to exceed requirements. I

 

[Jim Wynne]

We use a "T's and C's" document as applicable to warranties. However, these T's and C's do not over ride contractual agreements, especially concerning performance and reliability as advertised or contracted, ie, a contract is more powerful than a generic T and C statement. Since we are in a highly competitive environment we usually try to exceed requirements. I

"Terms and Conditions" are worthless unless they form a part of the contract, as you seem to realize by saying they "don't over ride contractual agreements." To address jsnc's question, customer-specific requirements should be a part of contractual agreements. If your customer issues a PO and references their specific requirements as part of that contract, then those requirements are legally binding. In most instances, the requirements will be referenced in the boilerplate language (small print) on the back of the PO form. If your company is unsure about any of this--i.e., what their contractual obligations are--they should talk to a lawyer.