1168 – Reading Contracts Carefully
Barbara: Just sign on the dotted line and be done with it.
Sean: Didn’t your parents ever teach you to read every document carefully before you sign it?
Barbara: Not when the contract is boilerplate. All of the terms are standard.
Sean: No, they’re not. Did you notice in the fine print that if the agreement is cancelled, we’re on the hook for additional charges?
Barbara: Really? No, I guess I missed that.
Sean: If you had gone through this document with a fine-tooth comb as I have, you would have noticed that there are loopholes for the other side to end the contract at any time.
Barbara: I guess I overlooked those.
Sean: And there are contingencies for problems on their end, but not on ours.
Barbara: Wow, I didn’t realize they were trying to screw us. Maybe we shouldn’t do business with them.
Sean: Relax. This is par for the course with this kind of contract. They try to sneak in all kinds of things and it’s our job to find them. We just have to be vigilant, that’s all.
Barbara: Do you think this is going to take much longer? They’re waiting in the other room to finalize the agreement.
Sean: It’ll take as long as it takes. What do you think that cot is for?