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I do it all the time. Every time there's one of those contracts to sign on the internet where you have to check "I agree" or "I disagree", I click without reading. I never read the papers I signed to buy any of my houses. The list goes on and on....
I do it all the time. Every time there's one of those contracts to sign on the internet where you have to check "I agree" or "I disagree", I click without reading. I never read the papers I signed to buy any of my houses. The list goes on and on....
That "So" should be "Do" if you put a question mark at the end....but I digress.
Considering the length of most contracts -- add my insurance coverage and my credit card agreements to common ones I don't read -- and that I would have to take a lot of time and concentration to wade through the legalize, yeah, it's wise. If we only signed what we understood, no one would do anything.
That "So" should be "Do" if you put a question mark at the end....but I digress.
Considering the length of most contracts -- add my insurance coverage and my credit card agreements to common ones I don't read -- and that I would have to take a lot of time and concentration to wade through the legalize, yeah, it's wise. If we only signed what we understood, no one would do anything.
Yes...you do digress.
So.....is that a wise thing to do? You still didn't answer the question. Regardless of how long it takes. Do you take a risk on a contract without knowing what you're getting into?
I see at least 5 votes in the "NO" column. Are you a yes or no?
Most of us would say we read contracts before signing, but how many of us have gone to the ER where they shove several two page forms in front of you and tell you to sign them? And we do with just a few seconds glance.
Last edited by Wayland Woman; 12-19-2009 at 11:28 AM..
I generally don't sign anything without reading and understanding what it is I'm agreeing to, but there are occasions I could conceive where I would not need to or not be able to.
I read everything before signing it. Yes, even the lengthy terms posted on websites. I don't necessarily read those word-for-word, but well enough to notice if there are any non-standard terms that I won't agree to. For instance, DirecTV is the only bill we still get paper billing for even though we have it set for auto-pay. That's because in their terms they make you agree that they can't be held responsible in any way if they send you a virus that infects your computer if you sign up for e-billing. Uhm, no, won't agree to that. The others don't have that language, so we're paperless with all other bills.
I drove the salesman crazy when we bought our motorcycle because I read that entire contract. Good thing I did, because I found three things that I refused to agree to, all of which they were willing to strike, and did strike before I signed it.
I got the city of Redondo Beach to change their standard release of liability form because it contained language that would have forbidden us from suing civilly if one of their police officers pointed a gun directly at our head and shot us to death (we were taking the "Citizen's Police Academy" course). I wouldn't sign it, gave it to the officer running the class and explained why. He, in turn, passed it along to his superior, who passed it on to the City Attorney who agreed that that language should be stricken, which it was. I was the only one in however many years of the city using that release for every employee, who read it closely enough to understand the implications and refused to sign it unless it was changed.
So, in short, I read everything before doing anything.
Now, I know where you're going with this. I do believe our legislators should read, to as much extent as possible, and understand bills before they vote on them. But I also understand that due to the nature of how bills are written and the unusual length of most of them, that they have staffers whose job it is to read them and bring attention to any concerns their Representative might have. I don't sign the contracts that come through my office, but I read every single one of them before giving them to my boss to sign off on, and I highlight any areas of concern that I find, or things I know he might have questions about or want to question. That's part of what staff is for, and that's what Congress does. We'd never get a single, solitary piece of legislation passed if it was any other way.
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congress does it all the time, would you read 2000 pages of boring technical reading material.
