One thing is for sure: most people are just skipping Terms and Conditions every time they encounter them. Probably because they are often so long and hard to read! In this article, we will try to explain why you should always read the Terms and Conditions, or to at least have a look at it.
First of all, we will start with an example. Let’s say you signed a contract that didn’t have an option to negotiate. It was pretty much take it or leave it. Of course, there could be some arbitration clauses. This means that, in case your contractor did something unfair to you, you can’t sue him but you can request an impartial arbitrator, who is designated to judge on the case.
Arbitration clauses like these can be added at any time in the Terms and Conditions by the companies. Let’s take another example. In 2011, SONY was sued by a lot of people after a breach in its database. In the next update of the Terms and Conditions, they added arbitration clauses that prevented the option to sue them ever again.
But this is kind of tricky, too. Whenever a company changes their Terms and Conditions, they are forced to give you 30 days to agree or disagree with the updates. If you do not agree with them, you can contact the company within those 30 days and negotiate the terms. If you don’t, the agreement is set in place automatically.
We advise you to read the Terms and Conditions periodically, especially if you have a long term contract. In most cases, they will not announce updates, which they can implement at any time. So be careful!