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When I originally opened my PayPal account many years ago, the terms and conditions were displayed in a textarea and thus completely editable. So I deleted them

When I originally opened my PayPal account many years ago, the terms and conditions were displayed in a textarea and thus completely editable. So I deleted them before I clicked the confirm button, and ran off a screenshot of the page. I always wondered what would have happened if I'd had any kind of dispute with them; would this have over-ridden the various "we're updating your terms and conditions" emails I received from them over the subsequent years? Or would continuing to use my account have amounted to acquiescence? (I assume the latter) In practice I closed my account a couple of years ago when I moved to Sweden as it's not possible to transfer the account between countries. I hadn't used it much because (Transfer)Wise makes international bank transfers so much cheaper than they used to be and for everything else I use a debit card (or, within Sweden, Swish). I don't think I'd go long on Paypal shares...

flaviut 4y ago
> I always wondered what would have happened if I'd had any kind of dispute with them NAL, but a contract requires a "meeting of the minds"[1]. You altering the contract without the other party knowing makes it invalid. The process when modifying a contract is generally to have all parties initial next to each modification to indicate that they've read and agree with the change. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_the_minds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_the_minds
- dcminter 4y ago
  Right, but that's my point. I deleted the terms (contract). So what contract applies? There was clearly no meeting of minds on this. So, for example, I would speculate that I could not have been bound to arbitration in the event of a dispute. Usually the Ts&Cs also contain verbiage about how and when amendments to the terms must be accepted, hence I wonder if subsequent changes would automatically be binding without further notice (over simplified, but you know what I mean) in the way that they normally are. I don't think it's as clear-cut as all that, though in practice I wouldn't much want to trust my weight to that rather flimsy hypothesis. I'd love to hear a real legal opinion on this though, just for shits & giggles.
  - flaviut 4y ago
    Then there's no valid contract, and you are not legally allowed to use the service. You retain the right to go to court, where you would find a judge unhappy with you for being a smartass. https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20150717729 https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20150717729 This person secretly edited their post employment discrimination release agreement. In court, they got out of the agreement, but they were forced to pay back the consideration + interest.

flaviut 4y ago

> I always wondered what would have happened if I'd had any kind of dispute with them NAL, but a contract requires a "meeting of the minds"[1]. You altering the contract without the other party knowing makes it invalid. The process when modifying a contract is generally to have all parties initial next to each modification to indicate that they've read and agree with the change. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_the_minds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_the_minds

dcminter 4y ago
Right, but that's my point. I deleted the terms (contract). So what contract applies? There was clearly no meeting of minds on this. So, for example, I would speculate that I could not have been bound to arbitration in the event of a dispute. Usually the Ts&Cs also contain verbiage about how and when amendments to the terms must be accepted, hence I wonder if subsequent changes would automatically be binding without further notice (over simplified, but you know what I mean) in the way that they normally are. I don't think it's as clear-cut as all that, though in practice I wouldn't much want to trust my weight to that rather flimsy hypothesis. I'd love to hear a real legal opinion on this though, just for shits & giggles.
- flaviut 4y ago
  Then there's no valid contract, and you are not legally allowed to use the service. You retain the right to go to court, where you would find a judge unhappy with you for being a smartass. https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20150717729 https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20150717729 This person secretly edited their post employment discrimination release agreement. In court, they got out of the agreement, but they were forced to pay back the consideration + interest.