You can Yell all you like, but we're not listening

Once upon a time there was the Yellow Pages - the classified section of the telephone directory. If you're old enough to remember the sometimes comically inept listings that were impossible to correct, it means you're at least as old as Andrew.

Then privatisation came, and our beloved yellow doorstop was sold off. Now meet Hibu, in the guise of Yell.com.

So our two intrepid directors decided to apply for a free listing on Yell.com - one entry for Qryztal Computing, and another for Qryztal Consulting. What happened next is no doubt recorded for posterity in Yell's library of call centre phone calls (no doubt known internally as the "hall of shame").

To their everlasting regret, our directors were induced to sign up to contracts totalling not much less than £2,300 for a year's worth of advertising. Yell must surely have been desperate, as the customer reference numbers are literally consecutive - either that, or it was a deliberate ploy to ensnare both of them. Who in their right mind would seriously believe that, in a capital city full of people who like to have a go at fixing computers, the principled and honest enterprise that is Qryztal would stand a chance of being at the top of the list of computer repair services in south London?

According to the contracts, the directors are locked into them under the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Yet at the same time members of Yell staff have advised the directors that the contracts are enforceable against the company.

So, who are the parties to the contracts? If the individual directors, then Qryztal Ltd cannot be held liable. If the company is party to both contracts, then the shareholders of Qryztal would ultimately be liable for any debts, but only up to the value of their shares.

If you're not confused by now, perhaps we should explain: the Consumer Credit Act applies only to individuals, not corporate bodies (limited companies).

To anyone reading this who hasn't signed up for a Yell contract, we say: heed our advice, and stay well clear of Yell.

And to Yell we say: you may wish to express your views as to the legality of this situation in the comments below. (We reserve the right to reply to or to ignore any comments on this blog post - and, indeed, to turn off commenting at any time.)

What's it like being a director of Qryztal? - a personal viewpoint

Andrew, one of our directors, tells us about his experiences of being a director.

I'd like to start by tackling a popular misconception of the life of a company director. If you think it's at all glamorous or easy, think again. It's a huge responsibility and it's one of the hardest things I've ever done.

The very first thing you learn is how many people are after your money. You soon get wise to sales tactics and realise that you can't spend what you haven't got coming in. The word 'no' and its synonyms soon become your most frequently used words when speaking on the phone.

Statutory obligations, filing dates and taxes are another bugbear. It might be tempting not to do things by the book, but if you want the business to prosper in the long term I'd strongly recommend keeping on the right side of the law. Yes, it's a lot of record-keeping, but I don't think there's any other way of running a company if you want to be able to sleep at night.

Speaking about sleep - it's easy to stay up too late thinking about and discussing company strategy as well as day-to-day matters. Give your body and mind a chance to recover by getting a reasonable amount of sleep.

Aside from business considerations, there's the interpersonal aspect too. If, as is the case for me, your fellow-director is already a friend, being in business together moves things up a notch or two. In some respects the mutual long-term commitment to the company makes things easier, but in other ways it's harder. For me there's the personal angle of not wanting to let my friend and colleague down, and giving him support and encouragement, whilst at the same time allowing him sufficient space to be himself and to get on with the things that he needs to do. This is where shared interests (cars, in our case), a goodly amount of give and take, and an abundant sense of humour come to the fore. Innuendo and intentional double meaning are always lurking around somewhere.

Yes, it's tough, but I can honestly say that I'm enjoying it. And I consider myself truly fortunate to be doing this alongside Arthur.