Do you ever read all the small print when you are on a website? Many have a check box to say you have read them before you can continue with your transaction or go to the next page. Some of them I have read, but the terms and conditions are long and the worst part is some say they reserve the right to change or amend them from time to time and tell you to check. I don't think that is always correct as the onus is on you, and you agreed to those particular terms, which is why you should keep a copy of the terms you agree to and not rely online as they can change them.
Most people never read those terms and conditions. Have you ever wondered why they make the page quite lengthy and most of it is but obscure legalese? That's probably why it never gets read because people hardly understand a thing. The only time I scrutinize the small print is when money will change hands. If I see anything that looks 'shady' then I'll click the back button and never visit that site again.
I know it's bad, but not illegal and this is where people get caught out when their information is collected and stored, sold on and also when they subscribe they may be signing up for automatic renewals. I actually wrote out one of these terms and conditions for a company I was setting up with a friend and you can insert clauses in where people won't think to find them. Websites are harder to regulate than hard copy terms and conditions, because they can be changed very quickly, too quickly.
So supposing you agreed to certain terms and conditions which you then print, if you sued the website later should they change their Terms and Conditions without notifying you, would you win such a a lawsuit? My interest is merely academic. I'm yet to meet someone who sues a website for changing their terms and conditions and losing certain benefits [money maybe]. But should the need to take such action arise, I want to know if . . .
I would say, they stand a chance if the terms and conditions did not state that the contract would be liable for the updated terms and contracts and that the owner should check them from time to time. The contract you sign is the one that stands. I challenged a credit company once for charging me interest on the card fee as the terms and conditions never stated that. I won and they changed the terms and conditions.
I often read the small print, though I don't feel like I read it as often when money is not involved. For example, there are a lot of American Food websites that ship US food to other countries. I have ordered from some of these before. A lot of them advertise free shipping, and so you go about your way adding things to your cart, and then when you go to check out, the free shipping only applies if you are spending over £50 or another money limit, which is annoying. Those times, I did not have fifty pounds to spend and so had to exit the website altogether. So I always make sure I read the small print where I can. A lot of these businesses are way too crafty.
I used to be part of a web design team and unfortunately, those little terms and conditions don't really mean much. Many companies just extract the text from random legal documents and customize a bit. When you're a startup firm, you don't really pay attention to these details because making money is your priority. However, once the firm grows bigger, it starts paying close attention to legal matters. I personally don't read small prints except when I have to.
