It’s safe to say that we’ve all done it; signing on the dotted line without fully reading the terms and conditions. Studies have actually shown that only 7% of people read the full terms before signing contracts. Whether it’s your mobile contract, pet insurance or business lease agreement, it is important to understand what you are signing up for. In this blog post we explain why you should get into the habit of reading the details.
What does ‘small print’ mean?
The small print or fine print tells you absolutely everything that you need to know about the product or service that you are signing up for. If it was a mobile phone contract, it would outline the price plan, any hardware costs and any other miscellaneous items. The Terms and Conditions, commonly referred to as “the T&C’s”, are essentially a legally binding contractual agreement which once signed commits you to that purchase decision.
Not all contracts are the same
Just because you’ve signed up for a similar contract before, doesn’t mean that this one will be exactly the same! It’s an easy mistake to make, but it’s most likely that the terms and conditions will differ, even if only in minor ways, between different businesses and services. Differences in contracts may include duplications, omissions or unexpected extras that you hadn’t previously encountered elsewhere, or that you may not necessarily be aware of, or want to pay for.
Tips to help you read the small print
Don’t forget that when you receive the small print, you can request for this information to be in large print, in Braille or in a number of other options. No one should be expected to read the equivalent of “War and Peace” before signing up to a service or product! There are some basic things to help you read the small print, for example if anything is listed in ALL CAPS then this will be important. It is also worth looking out for phrases around waivers (essentially giving up your statutory rights), releases, information, rights or sharing data with third parties.
Apps to help you read the small print
We’ve also identified some great apps to help you read the small print. ToSDR stands for ‘Terms of Service Didn’t Read’ and essentially breaks down lengthy fine print down into simple English. Another is EULAlyzer which will thoroughly analyse any terms of services and extract all important information for comprehensive understanding.
If you are an AGILIS Mobile customer and require a copy of your terms and conditions, then please email your request to customerservice@agilismobile.co.uk to acquire your copy.