It’s common to receive a mail from some service that they’re changing the terms and conditions of their service (internet provider, gmail, etc.) These changes are unilateral and can be about anything, from their privacy policy to the money they intend to charge me.
Why can’t I unilaterally send them a mail and say, I am changing the terms of my patronage and will now insert my new policy (pay only xx amount, or demand a mint Chico chip ice cream every Tuesday)?
This is pretty much it. We all bitch and complain about changes in the agreement, but you always have the option of not accepting those terms. It’s just that once the products and services get their teeth in us, we don’t want to give that up, so we click agree and obey our masters.
A significant counter example is click wrap. You can’t see the terms before you buy and you can’t reject it and get your money back.
Every instance of trying to set terms after purchase should be unenforceable in any just society
Some of it is nearly non negotiable. Like my bank changing their terms and conditions, sure i could go to another bank, but they’ve probably already got the same terms and conditions or the same changes coming. And it can be very difficult to live a normal life without a bank account.
I agree completely.
I now see how it may have sounded like I was recommending that everyone quit using these services. If you can break free, that’s great, but I know that’s rarely a possibility without completely complicating our own lives.
They know they got us by the balls. That’s why they do it.