A New Policy

I think I am one of the few people who actually read privacy policies of the companies that have them. I also read agreements before I sign. I'm not sure why, it's not like they are subject to negotiation, but it's always good to see how bad you're going to get screwed before it actually happens. It is scary to see the things that are in these "agreements." I would love to be able to create some kind of "consumer agreement" that would be required as a condition of my continued business. For instance, if I have to call back more than once, I am entitled to a fee of, say, $39 and a payment rate of $25 per hour, billed in 15 minute increments.

These "agreements" that we are forced to agree to in our business transactions are one sided, so I don't see why it would be a problem for me to do this. Surely someone has tried this before, I wonder what kind of luck they had with that. I once received from a utility company, with my bill, a note saying that by paying the bill I was agreeing to the amended subscriber agreement. What the hell?

I need to create some small print on checks that says something along the lines of "by cashing this check, you are hereby agreeing to the enclosed consumer agreement, subject to change with or without notice." This agreement could be benign at first, with things like a requirement to be treated with respect, etc. Then, I could amend my agreement to account for the inconvenience fees and other mandatory charges, and I may even give them notice, depending on my mood.

My guess is that they would find a way to get out of it in the end. If nothing else, they can afford lawyers and I can't, so right away they're ahead if they were to sue me or something. But if just one person could win this battle, it might turn the tables on the nonsense that we see every day and put a little control back into our hands. That would be worth the fight.