Other weasel words I have seen on many company names these days.
Are LLC instead of INC or CO .... I found it to be the acronym for
Limited Liability Company. Anyone know what this means for them
to weasel out of being liable? Seems like most companies are going
to similar labels. I don't want to be liable for nothing either, but
Sheezzzz!!! Do we all expect to get shafted from every place we
do business now? Any enlightenment appreciated.
Any lawyers out there? Can they really do business and not be
responsible for the services and products they sell?

Maybe not exactly on target for boatanchors, but applicable to
all of us these days me thinks.





"Bill Kirkland" wrote in message
.. .
Beg to differ. When I received an SP600 and cabinet from the US,
FedEx had dropped it hard enough to break the mounting screws
for the radio. It popped out of the cabinet and did the shake,
rattle roll bit. They refused to pay. Initially saying inadequate
packaging even though the person saying this had only seen the
inspection report which was not accurately filled out. The
story goes on and on. Finally I filed with small claims court and
in about a week I got a call from their lawyer wanting to settle.

When FedEx works, it works well.

Pay attention to the "small print" which you have to go find
somewhere in their website. They do NOT offer insurance on Ground.
They do offer the opportunity to increase their liability coverage for
a fee, i.e. how much you can hold them accountable for. This is
the "extra" you are paying for and is required by US law. Otherwise
they are limited to $100 liability.

Note that when you do find the relevant document (which doesn't
show up at all when you fill out the online paper work), they
exclude "antiques". Never, ever tell them you shipped a vintage radio.

bk
Agreed.

Let me also say that, from my experience, UPS and FedEx Ground break
things
at about the same rate. But when FedEx damages something, they promptly
inspect it and pay out without a fuss, while UPS will do almost anything
to
avoid paying insurance claims. Admittedly I have had only three UPS
issues,
but all were nightmares.
--scott

Mr Fed UP wrote:
Other weasel words I have seen on many company names these days.
Are LLC instead of INC or CO .... I found it to be the acronym for
Limited Liability Company. Anyone know what this means for them
to weasel out of being liable? Seems like most companies are going
to similar labels. I don't want to be liable for nothing either, but
Sheezzzz!!! Do we all expect to get shafted from every place we
do business now? Any enlightenment appreciated.
Any lawyers out there? Can they really do business and not be
responsible for the services and products they sell?

You're confusing liability for damages with liability between partners
of a corporation. Same word, different context.

Here's a brief explanation taken from the web.


Liability Issues of a Limited Liability Company

In a limited liability company, a member's legal liability is limited to
his or her investment in the business. Generally, a member's personal
assets are not at risk, but a member's personal assets may be at risk if
any of the following occurs:

*
A member personally guarantees a business debt.
*
The form of business is found to be a sham (not properly formed
or maintained).
*
A member becomes personally liable as a result of his or her own
acts or conduct.


-Bill

Ok. I see now. But still not a comforting thing to see hang on a
company title. At least for me. Looks like they are making a
hedge on legal proceedings before they even do business. LOL

Maybe goes along with never reaching a real person on the phone. :-)

Thanks for raking some of the muck off the new business jargon.
I can feel a little less exposed now.



"Bill" wrote in message
...
Mr Fed UP wrote:
Other weasel words I have seen on many company names these days.
Are LLC instead of INC or CO .... I found it to be the acronym for
Limited Liability Company. Anyone know what this means for them
to weasel out of being liable? Seems like most companies are going
to similar labels. I don't want to be liable for nothing either, but
Sheezzzz!!! Do we all expect to get shafted from every place we
do business now? Any enlightenment appreciated.
Any lawyers out there? Can they really do business and not be
responsible for the services and products they sell?

You're confusing liability for damages with liability between partners of
a corporation. Same word, different context.

Here's a brief explanation taken from the web.


Liability Issues of a Limited Liability Company

In a limited liability company, a member's legal liability is limited to
his or her investment in the business. Generally, a member's personal
assets are not at risk, but a member's personal assets may be at risk if
any of the following occurs:

*
A member personally guarantees a business debt.
*
The form of business is found to be a sham (not properly formed or
maintained).
*
A member becomes personally liable as a result of his or her own
acts or conduct.


-Bill

Mr Fed UP wrote:


Thanks for raking some of the muck off the new business jargon.
I can feel a little less exposed now.

Well, I suspect your instincts may be somewhat correct regardless. Many
LLCs exist because the owners want to protect themselves against each other.

-Bill

In article ,
Bill wrote:
Mr Fed UP wrote:
Other weasel words I have seen on many company names these days.
Are LLC instead of INC or CO .... I found it to be the acronym for
Limited Liability Company. Anyone know what this means for them
to weasel out of being liable? Seems like most companies are going
to similar labels. I don't want to be liable for nothing either, but
Sheezzzz!!! Do we all expect to get shafted from every place we
do business now? Any enlightenment appreciated.
Any lawyers out there? Can they really do business and not be
responsible for the services and products they sell?

You're confusing liability for damages with liability between partners
of a corporation. Same word, different context.

Here's a brief explanation taken from the web.


Liability Issues of a Limited Liability Company

In a limited liability company, a member's legal liability is limited to
his or her investment in the business. Generally, a member's personal
assets are not at risk, but a member's personal assets may be at risk if
any of the following occurs:

*
A member personally guarantees a business debt.
*
The form of business is found to be a sham (not properly formed
or maintained).
*
A member becomes personally liable as a result of his or her own
acts or conduct.


Technically, an "LLC" is a modified form of a partnership. In a traditional
partnership, *each* owner is responsible for _all_ the liabilities of the
business. In an LLC, 'n-1' (at *most*) of the partners are 'limited liability'
partners -- they have liability exposure only up to the assets they have
invested in the company (subject to 'special case' situations like those
mentioned above, whereby they may incur additional liabilities). The
remaining partner (or partners) is a "general partner", and is personally
liable for any/all things above and beyond the assets provided by the
"limited" partners.

A full fledged "Corporation" is a 'legal person' in and of itself. Assets
of the shareholders (the owners of the corporation) are immune from claims
against the corporation. Officers and directors of the corporation may
have personal liability to the shareholders for acts as a corporation official.
Persons acting "on behalf of" the corporation may end up with personal
liability for their own actions or conduct, IN ADDITION TO the corporation's
liabilities for those actions/conduct.

An LLC is much simpler -- in terms of organizational structure -- than a full-
fledged corporation, But it gives the 'limited' members "almost all" of the
protections of a passive stockholder in a corporation.

Basically, it is an attempt to give the 'small guy' most of the benefits of
the real corporation, without burdening him with all the overhead that is
necessary for a large business entity -- WHILE, at the same time, ensuring
that there _is_ a "responsible party" to fall back on, in the event of claims
against the business.

From a customer standpoint, there is essentially "no difference" between
dealing with an LLC, and dealing with a full-blown corporation.