Christies Beach 
Do you read everything before you sign it? For some people the answer is yes and if that is you, well done! Some of you will read the important documents but not worry about the not so important ones, while others are happy to sign anything.
Hey, I get it! You’re busy, you’re tired, it’s long or perhaps you don’t think you’ll understand it anyway. In most cases, everything is fine and you haven’t signed over your life savings. So, you might have agreed to signing up to a newsletter, big deal!
But be careful! This is not always the case. I’m not saying that everyone out there is trying to deceive you, you just need to understand what you are agreeing to.
This does not only apply to paper forms, this applies to digital forms or agreements. So, whether you a physically signing your signature or if you are clicking “I accept” or “I agree” you need to read it. What exactly are you accepting?
In many scenarios there is a representative there with you explaining the document, however some documents are sent directly to you to read and sign on your own.
If you don’t understand the document then it is fine to ask questions. You may even know someone who does understand and would be willing to look over them for you.
Not all documents have a cooling-off period. Quite often by signing or clicking accept you have reached the point of no return and getting it wrong can cost you money.
Another thing to be cautious of is assuming you know what the document says. Perhaps the terms and conditions have changed. You may have had a previous conversation with someone and all you have to do is sign the paperwork but sometimes it might be a generic form, not tailored to suit you, you may have to check a box or fill in some details to make it applicable to your situation.
If you read everything before you sign it may answer some questions that you may have, it may prevent you from making silly errors on a form and it may just save you a lot of stress, time and money.
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Read before you sign
02/03/2018
Article by Melissa Chaplin
