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26 Times People Actually Read The Terms And Conditions And Found Something So Unexpected, They Just Had To Share It Online
Article created by: Austėja Akavickaitė
Let’s be honest, Pandas, how many of us genuinely read all of the terms and conditions, cover to cover? Whether you’re buying a product or service, no matter if it’s physical or digital, more often than not, you have to wade through pages of confusing, lengthy technical jargon that is formatted into huge walls of text. Most of us just skip over all of that, either recycling what we consider to be a waste of paper or clicking [Accept]. Not many of us have the spare time to put on our corporate lawyer hats every single time we purchase something.
There’s one problem, though. You can never be certain if there isn’t something important hidden within those dizzying lines and twisting phrases. Some details are bizarre, unfair, absurd, and even hilarious. And that’s exactly the topic that internet users from around the world tackled in a viral r/AskReddit thread.
These people actually take their time and get to know the T&Cs and details of every contract and petition, intimately. Scroll down to take a peek at the weirdest things they’ve found. Have you come across any similar strange things when you got down to the nitty-gritty deets? Share your experiences in the comments.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I considered auditioning for the first season of Canada's Got Talent. I got the contract for auditions and read the fine print.
"You will pay your own room, board and travel. You agree to being on camera 24/7. We can listen to your private phone calls. We can enter your room at any time to check on you and record it."
I noped out of that audition fast.
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#2
I was a witness on Judge Judy probably about a decade ago. In the waiver that you have to sign it said you would get paid $5 in cash upon request in the small print. I asked the woman who took the form from me she chuckled and pulled out a crisp $5 and handed it to me.
#3
I was asked to sign a petition for something that I generally was in agreement with, until I read the last part of it, that read something like, "the chairman of the committee reserves the right to change the wording of this petition".
So it was like, "sign here, and we'll figure out what you signed later".
#4
You never own the Tesla you pay for.
Tesla, (and to various extents, other anti-right-to-repair companies like Mercedes, Apple, John Deere, etc.) hold that their products are intellectual property and cannot be owned by customers, instead claiming that they are effectively leased to buyers."
"Tesla has on on multiple occasions (illegally) disabled features of cars being sold used because of this.
#5
I’m an auto mechanic, I regularly purchase tools from tool trucks. Sometimes there’s little giveaways if you spend x amount you get this scratch off ticket that could win you something blah blah.
One time I was reading the fine print at the bottom, usual legalese stuff then the last line cracked me up - said something like “residents of Canada will be required to complete a series of mathematical questions in order to claim their prize”
What the hell did Canada do to require being punished to win a prize?
#6
The terms and conditions for the rewards card at the grocery store i worked had "if you've actually taken the time to read this, please email (email) with this code and the pin for your card for $500 in rewards points "
And it actually did, then I started getting a new card every other month or so. Then they changed who the rewards program was with.
#8
I read the terms and conditions before joining a gym. It said the only reason you could cancel your membership is if you moved out of the area or got injured and had a note from a doctor. Otherwise you had to give 30 days notice and pay 3 additional months worth of fees. I did not join.
#10
Gamestation (an old video game store in the UK) had an immortal soul clause. They own thousands of peoples souls!
#11
I read the terms and conditions for either Windows 95 or the Windows 98 upgrade. Somewhere buried deep in the middle was a warning that the operating system should not be used to operate a nuclear power plant. I'm assuming it was a joke because it was an individually licensed product rather than a corporate license, and if they were serious about it, I would think that warning would be at the top!
Also, can you imagine a nuclear power plant running on a 90's version of Windows? It would give a whole new meaning to "the blue screen of death."
#12
*You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.*
This is from the Terms and Conditions for Apple's iTunes.
#13
One of my old jobs said that if there was ever a contagion that resulted in people losing their minds and acting like violent, mindless, swarming animals (i.e. zombies or infected) then we would be expected to hide in bunkers, rescue our clients and not kill anyone.
#14
On my apartment rent agreement, there was one part that basically said: If you (the renter) dies then your family is responsible for paying the rest of the rent left on your contract.
#15
It was when I was setting up android work profile (The high school I'm attending rn issued us emails that route the emails through their servers) for online school. G-suite and everything.
I couldn't rlly avoid the work profile thing cuz android wanted me to set it up.
Enough with context here.
I downloaded google device policy to set this up and I saw, and I quote.
"Administrators on this domain can have access to any and all data on your phone"
I was like, Hell no! They do random phone searches of the students already why give them full access!?
I then decided to do the online class stuff on my computer and do it web-based instead of giving them full access to my phone.
#16
EasyBCD is one of the few I read. It says I owe a picture of my sister in the shower if the author asks for it.
That was like 10 years ago. I dunno if the software still exists.
#17
PPG (paint company) does not allow their paint to be used on terrorist, biohazard or nuclear facilities.
#18
I read the Terms and Conditions most of the time before I agree to them, and that's quite often since I tend to try out and play a lot of different mobile games. So I've encountered a few odd ones, though I can't remember which iOS games they were for specifically (though some ToS for other things).
* One had a single sentence about making pancakes for someone named Paul in the legal department if so called upon. I'm yet to be called upon to make pancakes.
* One consistently spelled it as "conditioner" as opposed to "conditions" throughout the entire document.
* A form I signed at an indoor rock climbing place (basically acknowledging that I knew it was dangerous and understood the physical risks of the activity) included a clause about how the business was not liable if any of my things were stolen, "including but not limited to bags, phones, wallets and the contents therein, and underwear." I never figured out what happened to make them specifically include underwear.
* Another mobile game (was probably Minions Run, but I'm not sure) warned players that slipping on banana peels can in fact be dangerous and so they did not recommend acting out that part of the game in real life.
* Bumble's ToS mentions that you're not allowed to share pictures of a dog that's not yours. Followed immediately by "(just kidding!)"
* If I was to break any part of my ToS with Microsoft, they would be within their legal right to ban me from using not only my Xbox Live but my Xbox itself while it's offline.
#19
Not my reading but a few years back people read amazon terms and conditions and found it contained a clause addressing the fate of products if a zombie apocalypse were to happen
#20
So i know a few years back there was a report of a dude who read through the whole thing and actually earned a cash prize for reading it in the fine print.
I dont know the exact details. not even sure if its true or not but maybe someone has evidence.
SelectPerception5 replied:
Yes, this really happened. He got $1,000. The TOS said to send a message to an email address and he did. The company actually paid him. They said it took four months for someone to email them after the TOS was released.
#21
My daycare’s release form had a clause saying that by signing, I was giving them permission to take my kids to Canada. Canada is a day’s drive away and there is absolutely no reason they would ever need to take my kids there. I crossed it off before signing.
My mortgage documents included a clause that says that, if I ever get sued, they have the right to accelerate the loan and demand payment of the entire remaining balance. It doesn’t matter if the law suit is meritorious. Just getting sued can lead to acceleration.
#23
These are a few paraphrased versions of what I had to sign in order to live on campus at my university:
I give my school permission to charge me legal fees that have nothing to do with me. They also say everyone I know has given up the right to sue the school.
They can kick me out at anytime with little warning, and if I do not leave with in a few days I have to pay a +$100 fee.
They are not responsible for working amenities such as water.
I am aware the school does not own there own dorms, even though the office that handles room and board claims otherwise.
#24
For no reason at all I read them for a PlayStation Network update. About the 7th page in, it stated that I would be “relinquishing my wallet and all funds within”. I didn’t update but just assumed it was fancy legal talk(mind you I was in my late teens) so I didn’t report it. 3 days later I found out that the update was a hack and thousands had their information stole of their PlayStation accounts.
#25
Don’t remember the exact wording, but some League-of-Legends-type game included this whole paragraph about how, *by installing this software, you authorize us to monitor every process on your computer, including but not limited to keystrokes, active programs, some of their memory, browser tabs, open files and potentially their contents, and send that info back, at all times,* even if the game wasn’t running.
Safe to assume I did not click agree, and managed to live life having never played that game.
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