THE OUTSIDE VIEW — TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT

2  What you receive

One telephone or video call of up to one hour, and a written review of no more than four pages delivered by email.

The review covers four things: the decision you are making or the issue you are reviewing, restated in different words; what already exists elsewhere that bears on it; what you already hold that your plan does not use; and the assumptions it rests on, with a note on which would be costly to be wrong about. It closes with three suggested next steps.

The review is a considered opinion. It is not a strategy document, an audit, a valuation, or a guarantee of any outcome.

3  Timing

The standard review is delivered within three working days of your material reaching me. The express review is delivered by the next working day, subject to availability, and is the same review delivered faster.

The clock starts when your material arrives, not when you book. If material arrives in parts, it starts when the last part arrives.

4  What you provide

After the call we agree what you will send. Please send only that. By sending it you confirm that you are entitled to share it with me, and that it does not infringe anyone else’s rights or any obligation of confidence you owe to someone else.

The review can only be as good as what I am given. If material is withheld, out of date or inaccurate, the review will reflect that.

5  Fees, payment and cancellation

£520 for the standard review; £780 for the express review. Payment is taken in full at the time of booking.

You may cancel at any time before the call and receive a full refund. After the call has taken place there is no refund, because the work has been done. You are buying an honest opinion and you may not agree with it.

Payment errors — a double charge, or a charge taken in error — are refunded in full on request.

6  Confidentiality

Everything you send me is confidential. It is not quoted, not shown to anyone, and does not appear in any published work. It is held for ninety days after delivery in case you have follow-up questions and then deleted — sooner if you ask.

This does not apply to information that is already public, that becomes public other than through my fault, or that I am required to disclose by law.

We do not name our clients for marketing purposes unless specifically agreed beforehand.

7  What each of us may use afterwards

You may use the review however you wish within your own organisation, including sharing it with your advisers, your board and your colleagues. You may not publish it or sell it.

I retain copyright in the review itself and in the methods, frameworks and materials I use to produce it.

The review draws on publicly available research — who else has faced a similar problem and what they did. Those findings were public before we spoke and remain available for my own writing and work, always without any reference to you, your organisation, or your situation.

I also remain free to use the general knowledge, skill and experience I retain in my memory, as any professional does. I will not use your documents, your figures, or any account that identifies you.

8  Not professional advice

The Outside View is not legal, financial, regulatory, tax, medical or technical advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional in any of those fields. Where the review touches on a matter that needs qualified advice, it will say so, and you should take that advice before acting.

Decisions, and their consequences, remain yours.

9  Limitation of liability

Nothing in these terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Subject to that, my total liability arising out of or in connection with an Outside View is limited to the fee you paid for it.

I am not liable for loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of opportunity, loss of anticipated savings, or any indirect or consequential loss, however arising.

10  Your information

I hold your name, contact details and the material you send, in order to carry out the work, to invoice you and to keep the records I am required to keep.

Your material is deleted after ninety days as set out above.

I do not sell or share your information.

You may ask me at any time what I hold, and ask me to correct or delete it.

11  Law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.

If you are dealing with me as a consumer rather than as a business, this does not deprive you of any protection given to you by the law of the country in which you live.

By ticking the box at booking, you confirm
that you have read and accepted these terms.