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It sounds far-fetched but that is what 7,500 online shoppers did when making an online purchase from a UK retailer on 1st April. Thanks to a clause in the retailer's terms and conditions, their customers entered into a Faustian pact that has a non transferable option to claim, for now and for ever more, the immortal souls of the purchasers. Although a rather amusing practical joke, there is a serious point to be made.

For consumers, it shows a worrying disregard for the terms and conditions for services that they sign for. The games retailer claims that 88% did not read the T's&C's.

Most, when presented with a written contract, will at least scan it for onerous clauses but when using the Internet and presented with a tick to agree, they simply proceed without exercising any form of check. Fanciful or unenforceable, it does however illustrate the need for website users to be less reckless with their online behaviour.

For eCommerce website owners, it suggests that they need to understand and mitigate this behaviour and ensure that terms and conditions are accessible, relevant and are not hidden away in some dark corner of the website.

So if you were one of the 7,500 who have inadvertently signed over their soul to the retailer GameStation, there is good news - they are willing to nullify the claim. Hopefully, this will mean they don't simply make the same mistake again and find themselves in a Faustian pact with a credit provider known as Old Nick.
 

© Amatica 19/04/2010