More contract killers

I spent the weekend reading cloud contracts and was amazed at some of the phrases I saw in some of them. These are the worst ones that I found.

1. We reserve the right to modify or replace these Terms at any time in our sole discretion. 

In other words, whatever we agree to we may decide to change our end at any time and with no reason or notice.

2. Company may increase or add new fees for any existing Free or Paid Service or Free or Paid Service feature at any time without notice. Such notice will be posted on Company's Websites. YOU AGREE THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING THE COMPANY's WEBSITES EACH MONTH TO CONFIRM WHETHER THERE ARE ANY NEW FEES AND, IF SO, THEIR EFFECTIVE DATE(S).

We agreed to a price but we may decide to change it. You need to ask us every month if the price increased and when we decided to change the price.

3. "We reserve the right, to temporarily suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time in our sole discretion, with or without cause, and with or without notice, without incurring liability of any kind."  .... "You acknowledge that if your access to the Service is suspended or terminated, you may no longer have access to the Content that is stored with the Service."

We might turn you off for no reason and you can't do anything about it. If we do, we don't have to give you any of your stuff back either.

Now imagine if these were contracts for something more tangible, say a rental agreement on your house. In theory, with no notice, you could go home and find your rent had gone up 300%, your door is locked with all the furniture in it and your new apartment is now in New Jersey instead of Manhattan.

I have not heard of anyone getting abused like that, and many times companies will have amendments that probably override the standard terms, so it may not be as bad is it sounds. But the point is this, If you are not reading and understanding these contracts carefully, you may be getting in trouble down the road.

It is possible to get cloud vendors to agree to custom amendments but only if you ask and are willing to walk away. There is a reason that legal is one of the 5 components of a CLOUDscore. Be careful...

Now the legal disclaimer. We are not contract attorneys. If you have questions you should check with one.