Readable Consumer Contracts
Author: N. J. C. Van den Bergh
Publisher:
Published: 1985
Total Pages: 110
ISBN-13:
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Author: N. J. C. Van den Bergh
Publisher:
Published: 1985
Total Pages: 110
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Uri Benoliel
Publisher:
Published: 2019
Total Pages: 42
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe duty to read doctrine is a well-recognized building block of U.S. contract law. Under this doctrine, contracting parties are held responsible for the written terms of their contract, whether or not they actually read them. The application of the duty to read is especially interesting in the context of consumer contracts, which consumers generally do not read. Under U.S. law, courts routinely impose this doctrine on consumers. However, the application of this doctrine to consumer contracts is unilateral. While consumers are expected and presumed to read their contracts, suppliers are generally not required to offer readable contracts. This asymmetry creates a serious public policy challenge. Put simply, consumers might be expected to read contracts that are, in fact, rather unreadable. This, in turn, undermines market efficiency and raises fairness concerns. Many scholars have suggested that consumer contracts are indeed written in a way that dissuades consumers from reading them. This Article aims to empirically test whether this concern is justified. The Article focuses on the readability of an important and prevalent type of consumer agreement: the sign-in-wrap contract. Such contracts, which have already been the focal point of many legal battles, are routinely accepted by consumers when signing up for popular websites such as Facebook, Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb. The Article applies well-established linguistic readability tests to the 500 most popular websites in the U.S. that use sign-in-wrap agreements. The results of this Article indicate, inter alia, that the average readability level of these agreements is comparable to the usual score of articles in academic journals, which typically do not target the general public. These disturbing empirical findings hence have significant implications on the design of consumer contract law.
Author: Omri Ben-Shahar
Publisher:
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 42
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKStandard form contracts in consumer transactions are usually not read by consumers. This 'unreadness' of contracts creates opportunities for drafters to engage in unfair trade practices. Various doctrines of contracts and consumer protection law address this concern. One of the prominent solutions coming out of recent proposals for reform is to give individuals a more substantial opportunity to read the contract before manifesting assent. With the greater opportunity to read, more transactors will actually read the terms and assent to the boilerplate will be more 'robust.' This Essay argues that solutions that focus on providing consumers an opportunity to read are useless, and can potentially be harmful. Most likely, greater opportunity to read would not produce greater readership of contracts - not the type that can help people make informed decisions - and the purpose of this solution would not be achieved, and could have unintended consequences. Even if the compliance with the requirement of opportunity-to-read is fairly cheap (e.g., giving consumers access to the boilerplate in advance), making this a central feature of the legal regulation of standard form contracts makes little sense. The paper ends by proposing non-legal approaches to making the contract terms more transparent, by building on market devices such as ratings and labeling.
Author: Alberta. Alberta Consumer and Corporate Affairs
Publisher:
Published: 1991
Total Pages: 7
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Richard Thomas
Publisher:
Published: 1984
Total Pages: 92
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Alberta. Alberta Consumer and Corporate Affairs
Publisher:
Published: 1991
Total Pages: 7
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMany problems occur because consumers do not read the contracts they sign, or if they do read them, they do not always understand them. This document provides a definition of a contract, and plain language. It also explains how plain language will benefit consumers and business, and specifies the cost to revise contracts.
Author: Gardiner, Caterina
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Published: 2022-06-14
Total Pages: 240
ISBN-13: 1800886179
DOWNLOAD EBOOKSince the introduction of the European Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD) there have been far-reaching developments in the digital landscape which have significantly altered the nature of consumer contracts. This timely book examines the changes that have taken place since the advent of the UCTD and analyses the challenges that they pose for consumers entering online standard form contracts today.
Author: Chris Willett
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-12-05
Total Pages: 465
ISBN-13: 1351937391
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book focuses on unfair contract terms in consumer contracts, in particular the existing legislation and the proposals by the Law Commissions for a new unified regime. In this context it considers, in particular, what we mean by fairness (both procedurally and in substance); the tools used; the European dimension; the move from general principles from the more piecemeal approach typical in UK legal tradition; and the further move in this direction as a result of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
Author: Willem H. Van Boom
Publisher:
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 11
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the area of financial services, lawmakers and regulators increasingly promote the use of plain language in business-to-consumer contracts. Although such efforts are undoubtedly welcomed by consumers, as they promote better comprehension, not much is known about the actual effects of improved readability on consumer attitudes and cognitive processes. Does improved readability in general contract terms have an impact on the consumer's perception of their contractual position? Do contracts that are easier to read influence the steps or actions taken by consumers in the wake of conflict? In response to these questions, we present data from an experiment that investigates the relationship between the reading ease of general contract terms on the one hand and consumer expectations and willingness to engage in conflict on the other. Our findings suggest that readability increases the trust and confidence of the consumer in the sense that it increases their expectations of the claim. Moreover, we have found partial evidence to suggest that reading ease also increases the consumer's willingness to engage in legal action in the case of subsequent claim denial.
Author: Peter Walker
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-03-04
Total Pages: 109
ISBN-13: 1135341761
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis fourth edition of Practice Notes on Consumer Law contains much useful information for those dealing with problems in consumer law, from either the consumer or supplier perspective. These notes include guidance on common problems, checklists, specimen letters and precedents to help you through the common problems in this area of law, which has recently changed so rapidly. Consumer Law covers contract, tort, consumer credit, and consumer safety. Each of these areas has seen huge changes in the ways business is done, largely as a result of changing technology, enabling people to buy goods and services in new ways, including via the internet. That technology can, in itself, be the cause of difficulties, where it goes wrong, or where suppliers have inadequate systems to deal with customer. Both suppliers and consumers need advice on how to deal with the problems that arise. This fourth edition has, therefore, been updated to include: developments such as the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 changes in consumer safety law, particularly the regulations concerning general product safety changes in civil procedure as a result of the Woolf Reforms - the book includes procedural notes relating to litigation the influence of the European Union, particularly consumer protection for distance selling contracts.