Do you still read TERMS AND CONDITIONS?

16 years ago

I admit that I am a lazy bum and I don't fancy the idea of
have to read "technical stuff" but I blame it on Zeus66.

I know I should but I don't most of the times

EDIT: But when signing up for an affiliate network or something
similar, I do read if there is a minimum age requirement because I
am not 18.

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mattlaclear

16 years ago

To be perfectly honest...I have never read them.

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Devid Farah 16 years ago

Generally people "perceive" the legal documents boring and don't read them....they prefer going straight to the point,read the sales letter and eventually make the purchase!
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ueon 16 years ago

Originally Posted by mattlaclear

To be perfectly honest...I have never read them.

Thanks for the honest reply haha

did you ever feel the need to read them? do you feel insecure purchasing online without reading the terms?
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- mattlaclear 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by ueon
  
  Thanks for the honest reply haha
  
  did you ever feel the need to read them? do you feel insecure purchasing online without reading the terms?
  
  If I felt insecure I wouldn't be making the purchase. So no I have never felt the need to read them.
  
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theentry 16 years ago

Originally Posted by mattlaclear

To be perfectly honest...I have never read them.

Yap there should be a 'None of the above' option
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- Lance K 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by theentry
  
  Yap there should be a 'None of the above' option
  
  And perhaps an 'All of the Above' option as well.
  
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jasonmorgan

16 years ago

The question should be Do I ever read terms and conditions, the answer would be Most of the time, Nope.

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CDarklock

16 years ago

I've read so many terms and conditions documents, I don't bother anymore.

They all say more or less the same thing: we're in charge, you're our guest, and if you don't like the rules you can go to hell.

So I just check the FAQ. If something is against the T&C, there will be a FAQ of "Can I do XYZ?" with an answer of "Hell no and if you try it we'll lock you in the attic and make you eat bugs." If I don't see a clear answer in the FAQ, and I'm still not sure I can do what I want, then I'll read the T&C for clear and specific guidance.

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halmo 16 years ago

Almost always, but it depends on what the purchase is, and how much personal information it requires. If it's something that requires, for example, my SS number, yes, I read the terms. If it's a $17 eBook, no.

I have to say , I have not signed up to one of the affiliate networks because their legal terms are totally out of control, and unfair. (Hint: it's not Clickbank.). I looked at the legals on some of their other sites too, and they are all really bad. I think they should have a different lawyer.

If I could, I would have chosen more than one option in your poll.
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- smartlazy Banned 16 years ago
  
  No, because I don't understand legalese and gibberish. But sometimes, I scan the T&C to check if my country is eligible.
  
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Leslie B

16 years ago

Originally Posted by CDarklock

I've read so many terms and conditions documents, I don't bother anymore.

They all say more or less the same thing: we're in charge, you're our guest, and if you don't like the rules you can go to hell.

So I just check the FAQ. If something is against the T&C, there will be a FAQ of "Can I do XYZ?" with an answer of "Hell no and if you try it we'll lock you in the attic and make you eat bugs." If I don't see a clear answer in the FAQ, and I'm still not sure I can do what I want, then I'll read the T&C for clear and specific guidance.

That's basically how I do it myself. Not sure if it's the correct way, but it's good to know I'm not alone LOL

Leslie

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PatriciaJ 16 years ago

It depends what it is and how much it costs. I only ever buy software or pay for services so anything low cost I just want to know what I'm getting for my money and skim the jargon. Anything that costs more than say $100 I make an effort to read everything, but I swear that they write long winded and boring T & C on purpose to put you off reading everything and for us with older eyes make the words blur a quarter of the way through.
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CDarklock 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Leslie B

Not sure if it's the correct way, but it's good to know I'm not alone

I used to be really, really anal about reading all the terms and conditions. In the offline world, I still do read everything before I sign it. But online?

Most of the places I buy things are from new or inexperienced marketers.

Their terms and conditions are a mess. If they've been modified from the defaults, they're usually not enforceable. If they haven't, they're usually not even applicable.

The only place terms and conditions really make a difference to me is when I sign up for a service. Like I sign up for a social bookmarking service that says "do not use automated tools to submit here," which I do check for in the FAQ and the terms, and then I know that even if OnlyWire supports that service I shouldn't put in my account details. (This has actually become true of enough social BM sites I use that I don't even use OnlyWire anymore.) But when I'm buying something, I usually don't bother reading the terms and conditions of sale because my legal rights usually supercede them anyway.
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- mojojuju 16 years ago
  
  For me it depends on what I'm purchasing, from whom, and what implications it would have if something went wrong with whatever it is I purchased.
  
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Effective Marketing

16 years ago

Terms and Conditions are the vital steps of the over all purchase process and shouldn't be neglected under any circumstances.

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jamjar919

16 years ago

Gamestation took advantage of no-one reading the T&C and added a clause which allowed them to legally own your soul! This could be easily avoided by unchecking a checkbox. If you did, then you were given a £5 gift voucher for taking the time to read the T&C.
88% of people who ordered a game in the period it was set up did not read the t&C

GameStation: "We own your soul" | bit-gamer.net

Luckily, gamestation offered a full refund of the souls and have contacted all participants - Phew!

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ankitsharma

16 years ago

It must be read because i know some people for whom this T&C turned bad and they did not get expected results.So going by there advice i will read it.

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Bupler

16 years ago

I don't, and I think this 9Gag pic totally shows it all

9GAG - The most common lies ever told

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MarcoJardel 16 years ago

What are these "Terms & Conditions" that you speak of?

In all seriousness, no i don't read them and I never have.

I guess 99% of people don't read them. The scary thing is that organisations know that and could put pretty much whatever they want in their T&C.
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nelaffiliate

16 years ago

I have only read them once or twice.... I mostly read the FAQ.

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JohnMcCabe

16 years ago

I read T&C, as well as other legally binding documents. I assume the FAQ, About page, etc. are marketing materials rather than documentation.

Like Caliban, I've read so many of them over the years that I can skim over the standard boilerplate in a couple of minutes, and look for the clauses that stick out.

I tend to drive salespeople crazy, because I do read the contracts they ask me to sign, whether its a new car, an insurance policy or my house. When we bought our house, I drove the seller's lawyer crazy at the closing because he took the job on a flat rate basis and I insisted on reading every page before signing or initialing it. Took about four times longer than he'd planned, and it was fun to watch him fidget. He kept saying "it's the same as in the review copies we sent you" and I kept saying "then you won't mind if I read them over to make sure...":p

Added:

John was making his post as I was typing mine. He raises an excellent reason for reading the terms, etc.

They can work to your advantage.

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halmo

16 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

I read T&C, as well as other legally binding documents. I assume the FAQ, About page, etc. are marketing materials rather than documentation.

Like Caliban, I've read so many of them over the years that I can skim over the standard boilerplate in a couple of minutes, and look for the clauses that stick out.

I tend to drive salespeople crazy, because I do read the contracts they ask me to sign, whether its a new car, an insurance policy or my house. When we bought our house, I drove the seller's lawyer crazy at the closing because he took the job on a flat rate basis and I insisted on reading every page before signing or initialing it. Took about four times longer than he'd planned, and it was fun to watch him fidget. He kept saying "it's the same as in the review copies we sent you" and I kept saying "then you won't mind if I read them over to make sure...":p

Added:

John was making his post as I was typing mine. He raises an excellent reason for reading the terms, etc.

They can work to your advantage.

Thanks for mentioning it. When I got my car, I asked for a copy of the contract, and took it home to read it before I would sign it the next day. They were totally taken. The guy was very nice, but he said in all his time there was only one person who read the contract before signing it. How could anybody not read it? Doesn't make sense to me. It can significantly affect one's life. My rule is: I never sign anything without reading it. Know your rights!

The sad part is that even some legitimate, and important organizations think that people should sign papers without reading it. Once I was picking up someone from a hospital who was there for a one-day treatment. They asked me to sign a paper to verify that I will be taking her home in my car. I took the paper to read it, and the nurse (or whoever it was) told me that I couldn't read it because the paper had confidential medical information on it that's only for the patient. It was a one-page document. So why don't they put the medical information on a separate paper? They expect someone to sign something but not allow to read it? Crazy.

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JohnMcCabe

16 years ago

Here's another example...

The sad day came when we had to admit my wife's mother to long-term nursing care (a nursing home). Over the years, her illness had taken all of her savings, so she had to rely on Medicare.

When we signed her in, one of the things we were asked to sign was a permission to treat order. Slipped into the middle of it was a clause saying that we agreed to be financially responsible for anything Medicare didn't cover. There was a small check box if you did not want to accept the agreement.

The five minutes it took to read that page, check the box, initial it and circle it saved us thousands of dollars after my mother-in-law passed away and the nursing home found out there was no estate.

Every time they sent us a bill, we sent them a copy of the page showing we opted out of financial responsibility and a request to send the bill in the name of the estate. After two years, and a notice that the next step on our part would be consulting a lawyer about a harassment suit, they finally gave up.

Thank God I'm anal about reading things before signing...

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mattlaclear

16 years ago

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

Here's another example...

The sad day came when we had to admit my wife's mother to long-term nursing care (a nursing home). Over the years, her illness had taken all of her savings, so she had to rely on Medicare.

When we signed her in, one of the things we were asked to sign was a permission to treat order. Slipped into the middle of it was a clause saying that we agreed to be financially responsible for anything Medicare didn't cover. There was a small check box if you did not want to accept the agreement.

The five minutes it took to read that page, check the box, initial it and circle it saved us thousands of dollars after my mother-in-law passed away and the nursing home found out there was no estate.

Every time they sent us a bill, we sent them a copy of the page showing we opted out of financial responsibility and a request to send the bill in the name of the estate. After two years, and a notice that the next step on our part would be consulting a lawyer about a harassment suit, they finally gave up.

Thank God I'm anal about reading things before signing...

Reading the fine print in that situation was for sure warranted. But if I'm ordering a $100 do hickey online it's a different scenario all together.

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uwantmedia

16 years ago

Prior to a purchase online I always look for reviews from sites that I trust.

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Alexa Smith

Banned 16 years ago

Originally Posted by ueon

when you purchase items from a website, do you still read the terms and conditions?

Apart from some WSO's, I only purchase from Amazon and Clickbank, really, and I've read those enough times not to.

But when I'm using someone else's website as part of my own business (for example an article directory or what people call a "web 2.0 site"), I always read the terms and conditions.

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tpw

16 years ago

Originally Posted by ueon

A question that's been bothering me for a while now, when you purchase items from a website, do you still read the terms and conditions? Or is the FAQ enough?

What do you usually read prior to your purchase?

A question that bothers me is why your poll is not multiple choice? LOL

I always read the FAQ before purchase, and if a service, I always read the Terms and Conditions.

Your poll would only let me choose one and not two. :rolleyes:

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ueon

16 years ago

Thanks for bringing this up, I actually wanted to see what people feel is the most important when purchasing online

for example, when they're in the checkout process...."oh wait! I forgot to read the....."

Originally Posted by tpw

A question that bothers me is why your poll is not multiple choice? LOL

I always read the FAQ before purchase, and if a service, I always read the Terms and Conditions.

Your poll would only let me choose one and not two. :rolleyes:

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Istvan Horvath

16 years ago

I don't get the "still" part of the question...

Yes, I am 'anal' about reading ALL the fine print - be it online or offline.

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Alexa Smith Banned 16 years ago

Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath

I don't get the "still" part of the question...

Agreed ... I'm actually even more likely to read terms and conditions now than I used to be. One is increasingly aware of the importance of doing so (and in my case increasingly interested in a legalistic/academic way in reading them, as well, to be honest).
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sierraandmo

16 years ago

For the poll, I would vote for an all of the above option. I guess my mother ingrained "reading is important" in me when I was little. I read everything . . . sometimes it's a waste of time and exactly like all of the other T&Cs I have read and sometimes there's a little nugget that will bite you in the bum if you don't pay attention.

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mrmatiesto

16 years ago

Not usually they tend to be the same old thing over and over.

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jake244 16 years ago

I skim through them LOL.
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Do you still read TERMS AND CONDITIONS?

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