Stallman seems far out to me on some issues but this is one that irks me too. I'm glad he wrote the entry.
My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
161–170 of 245 posts
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you have a lawyer to represent you? That's their job... to make sure that the contract you're signing is OK. Actually reading a contract without knowledge of the law, case history, and background can get you into just as much trouble as not reading it at all. That's why you have lawyers review important contracts.
The first time I rented a car, I spent 10 minutes reading the rental agreement. I don't do that any more; I just glance at it and sign it. I am not a lawyer. Suppose a rental car matter ended up court. I would rather not have to say to the judge, "I spent 10 minutes thoughtfully reading and evaluating the contract, and after careful consideration decided to accept the agreement." I would rather be able to say, "Gee,…
Fortunately those agreements are fairly standard between the major rental companies, so the future contracts are not going to change much. You still know general gotcha's while renting a car now.
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
I subscribe to the 'when you're in a bank, read everything, even if it takes four hours' theory. The last time I set up a really simple business chequing account, the account manager: - spelled my name wrong - spelled the company name wrong - claimed that I was an electrician - listed my job title as 'oner' None of these are terribly material errors, but they demonstrate just how frequently errors occur in financial…
And you still opened an account at that same bank?!
Those retail bankers are like store clerks, not paid that well.
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#164why does this have anything to do with hacknews?
People sign contracts in their daily lives and in a variety of situations. Particularly hackers who are likely to work on a contract basis.
The valuable lesson here is that one should not feel shy about calling attention to the contents of a contract nor suggesting a change.
I remember years ago I was looking for an apartment through an apartment finding service. That wanted me to sign a contract that stated I would would be "fined" if I were to rent ANY apartment outside their service. I quickly called attention to it and asked them to print out a new version. They agreed.
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
Additionally, what about the fact that if the woman knew the Privacy Policy was 3000 pages and in a binder (which she claimed to be aware of) and knowingly accepts a statement she strongly believes to be untrue? Is this enough to invalidate the "contract" because it is blatantly known that full disclosure and meeting of the minds has not been met? This also comes to mind during mortgages and car loans. Often the clos…
When I bought a car, I read mine and they weren't surprised or upset. They patiently waited while I read it and initialed that I had done so.
The guy I was talking to was amused when I actually read what I was signing while purchasing my car. It asked me to sign saying I had received something, which was going to be printed next. He said I was the first person to refuse to initial/sign the paper until I had seen the next item on the list.
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
I completely agree. When I bought a house (and later sold it), the day before, we had the title company forward all of the documents to our lawyer to review. When he gave his okay, I felt perfectly comfortable signing multiple documents that I never read. For something like that, it's important to have someone with some knowledge go over things first. Was I really going to be in a position to slowly read over documen…
It's better than not reading it, but you still don't really know what you're signing. Maybe there's some catch or you're on the hook for something and the lawyer doesn't say anything (or even notice) because it's relatively standard for that kind of contract? Probably a better use of time and money is to have them forward the documents to you, read over them the day before and ask a lawyer if you have any questions.
Except, I'm not a lawyer... so if there is something, then I probably wouldn't catch it either. At some point, you have to trust professionals to do their job.
Buying a house is a bit different though, because you have the purchase agreement and then you have the contracts you sign at closing. We examined the purchase agreement in depth with our lawyer, since that is what sets the context for the rest of the transaction documents. However, once that was out of the way, there was no need for us to read anything - so long as our lawyer signed off on it.
It also depends on how much you trust your lawyer...
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#167Could you imagine at the extremes if you had been refused treatment because of your refusal to sign this document, to which you knew to be untrue, and to which they could not provide you with the policy. I studied law for four years (haven't qualified) , but I'm still not even sure on the liability on this one (if there is any at all in this hypothetical). It just shows how bureaucratic everything has become when a p…
The privacy policy wasn't 3000 pages. Either Stallman didn't remember the story correctly, or more likely the receptionist was just making up a number to scare him off pursuing the issue. Even the thickest novels don't make it to 3000 pages; very few make it to 1000. Hell, I'd be surprised if the privacy policy hit 3 pages.
I see you've never dealt with the government. I wouldnt be surprised if it grew a couple % each year.
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#168I recently had a similar experience at my dentist's office. I was asked to sign a waiver of liability, presumably for insurance purposes. It asked me to state that I had been informed of the risks of the procedure (tooth removal), including a long list of possible bad outcomes. I asked the dentist about this, and she said not to worry, most of those couldn't happen here. So I asked her to please strike the ones that…
It is ill-advised to spite your dentist soon before they get to work with sharp objects inside your mouth (or anyone, really).
He didn't "spite" his dentist. He wanted her to explain the risks of the procedure - which I think is reasonable.
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
In germany for certain contracts (such as buying a house or creating a LLC) it's required that a notary reads them aloud for you. That's quite a bit of fun if the contract contains annotations that make it fill a binder. There are some loopholes though: The contract may refer to another document that the notary may read to his assistant, so not everybody has to go through the whole ordeal.
Yeah we have that too in the Netherlands, at least for the important portions of the documents. The last time I closed on a house it took over two hours. All relevant documents had been e-mailed to us beforehand but you still cannot ask them to skip the reading. Being too careful can be annoying too.
Idle curiosity makes me wonder if this applies when the purchaser is deaf. I'm going to predict the answer is "yes."
Re: My Doctor's Office Asked Me To Lie
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is ill-advised to spite your dentist soon before they get to work with sharp objects inside your mouth (or anyone, really).
He didn't "spite" his dentist. He wanted her to explain the risks of the procedure - which I think is reasonable.
Maybe he didn't ask in the most tactful manner.