4 ms·
This reads as yet another symptom of the US mentality which sees government regulation and taxes as evil, but property rights and contracts as sacrosanct. It s
by PoignardAzur 2y ago
This reads as yet another symptom of the US mentality which sees government regulation and taxes as evil, but property rights and contracts as sacrosanct.
It shouldn't be possible to sign a contract that binds you to arbitrary amounts of future fees. When buying a property, you shouldn't be locked into doing whatever maintenance the co-property fancies unless you at least own a voting stake in that co-property. (And even then, only within reasonable limits.)
This is the same mentality that somehow sees student loans with >10% interest rate as anything but a symptom of a disfunctional economy.
At the very least, for cases like these, the government should tell scammers creating those constracts "You're free to put that ink on paper, but we're not going to use our monopoly on legitimate violence to enforce it".
- nottorp 2y ago> It shouldn't be possible to sign a contract that binds you to arbitrary amounts of future fees. In the US? Cable TV? Cell phone service? Restaurant bill?
- ndsipa_pomu 2y agoI've never had to sign a contract to eat in a restaurant. Are you referring to a specific restaurant?
- monkeyfun 2y agoI think they just mean that in many restaurants you pay only after receiving your food, but it's really not a very good comparison for a number of reasons. Especially since all of the above listed things, but especially restaurants, have stated prices and often a means of negotiating them down or being entirely un-obligated if the providing party fails too severely. And since, though not fully related, a restaurant can choose not to accept credit cards for instance, but there's often an obligation to state that clearly and visibly somewhere obvious beforehand, and always (in the US) an obligation to accept cash for debts owed in this manner.
- ensignavenger 2y agoContracts don't necessarily need a signature to be valid. If you order food at a restaurant, there is an implied contract that you will pay for the meal. However, this amount is almost always stated in the menu, so it isn't arbitrary. In fact, in each of the above cases, the amount you pay is almost never arbitrary, but based on usage or a preset price.
- mrgoldenbrown 2y agoI am allowed to cancel my cable service and cell phone plan. You can't cancel a timeshare.
- nottorp 2y agoBut you still have no idea how much you'll actually pay when you sign up. Even if you can cancel it later.
- phatfish 2y agoThe UK is way ahead on this one. Enter into a contract to own part of a property as an "affordable" option. Get screwed by service charges that have no limit. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/sep/22/affordable-shared-ownership-homes-cost-residents-more-than-half-their-wages https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/sep/22/affordable-sha...