Tony Bingham has been released into the ether, with a regular blog on 好色先生TV鈥檚 website. Here鈥檚 a taster on that big bugbear, small print ...

Terms and conditions may not 鈥減rotect you, the customer鈥. In fact, they can be packed with limitations. I am sitting here gawping at a page of small print terms and conditions. No, not because I鈥檓 getting paid to 鈥 this time I鈥檓 about to sign up to a contract for me. My affairs. And damn, I was ever so tempted just to sign and get things moving. I had to give myself a good talking to: 鈥淗ere you are Bingham, lawyer, barrister, disputomaniac, stealing yourself to read the plethora of small print.鈥

Eventually I began to do what you should do, but don鈥檛. I began to read the tiny print, the clause headings, the subclauses, the exclusion clauses, the notwithstanding and the ifs and buts. 鈥淪od it,鈥 I said four times. Worse words I said five times. Worst of all, nobody was paying me to do all this!

And all that was for getting into contract with the outfit that 鈥渓ooked鈥 favourite. Fed up with them, I delved into their competitor. Hells bells, they had the same small print. So did a third outfit. They鈥檙e all members of the same trade association. So I phoned the association. Yes, by now I have my teeth into this. The consumer affairs officer told me these are the terms and conditions published 鈥渢o protect you, the customer鈥.

Hey, wait a minute 鈥 the small print is heaving with limitation clauses: 鈥淲e limit our liability to threepence ha鈥檖enny for any one event鈥. But we offer you an insurance policy to increase the liability, said the consumer affairs officer. In any case, he asked, what do you want instead? I want all the small print knocked out. Instead I simply want the Supply of Goods and Services Act and the common law. 鈥淭ricky,鈥 he said. We parted on good terms. 鈥淛ust ask our association members to omit the small print,鈥 he said. I did. And guess what they said 鈥 no chance. So, I鈥檓 still gawping ...