Every trap Redline looks for

Seventy-nine named traps, each one with the exact wording it hides behind, how badly it bites, whether it survives in your jurisdiction, and what to do about it before you sign.

79 traps · 1789 verbatim clause phrases

  • Deemed acceptance / browsewrap

    You are said to be bound merely by visiting or using the service (or by someone else's click on your account), cookies and…

  • Forced arbitration, no class action

    All disputes go to individual binding arbitration (AAA/JAMS/NAM), appraisal or the drafter's home forum; court, jury and class…

  • 'As is', capped liability

    Service provided 'as is / as available' with all warranties disclaimed; liability capped at $10-$100 or fees paid in the last…

  • Unilateral terms change

    The drafter may rewrite the terms, privacy policy, tariffs, house rules or scope of work at any time — often by posting a new…

  • Charge any linked card

    You pre-authorize charges to any payment method linked to the account, to card details refreshed by 'account updater' services…

  • Foreign forum & law

    The contract is governed by California/Delaware/Utah/Irish/Cypriot or 'tribal' law with exclusive jurisdiction of courts far…

  • Overbroad perpetual NDA

    'Confidential Information' means any information in any form, marked or not, forever, with no carve-outs; the existence of the…

  • Short claim deadlines

    Claims must be brought within one year (insurance: 12-24 months from the date of loss, not from denial) or are 'forever barred'…

  • Unlimited guarantor liability

    A parent, friend, spouse or the signing director guarantees 'all obligations' jointly and severally — including interest…

  • Termination at will

    The provider may suspend or terminate your account, membership or access at its sole discretion, for any or no reason, without…

  • Overbroad content license

    You grant a worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable licence — often perpetual and irrevocable, surviving deletion…

  • Forfeiture of balances/credits

    Wallet funds, prepaid credits, virtual currency, loyalty points, 'purchased' games/media or data are declared revocable licences…

  • Platform fines & payout holds

    Marketplace, payment and SaaS platform terms let the operator impose fines, deductions, rolling reserves and 90-180-day payout…

  • Service change/discontinue anytime

    The provider may change features, remove catalogue content or channels, cut usage limits, change club facilities or class…

Subscription

10 traps
  • Silent auto-renewal

    The contract re-bills for successive periods indefinitely unless the consumer affirmatively cancels, with no reminder promised…

  • Unilateral price increase

    The provider may change prices at any time or at each renewal ('at the then-current rate') with notice ranging from none to a…

  • Cancellation channel restricted

    Sign-up is online in one click, but cancellation requires calling during business hours, speaking to a 'retention specialist'…

  • Early cancellation deadline

    To stop renewal the consumer must give notice 30, 60 or 90 days before the term ends — or at least 24-48 hours before the…

  • Early termination fee

    Leaving before the minimum term triggers a flat fee, the balance of remaining payments or 50% of the remaining contract value…

  • Trial silently turns paid

    A 'free' or nominal-price trial requires a card up front and converts into a paid recurring subscription at the end of the…

  • No refund for unused time

    All sales final; payments non-refundable; cancellation takes effect only at the end of the paid period with no pro-rata refund…

  • Cancellation obstacle course

    Cancellation is technically online but requires many screens, repeated 'are you sure', mandatory retention offers, surveys…

  • Pre-checked paid add-ons

    Checkout pre-selects optional paid add-ons (protection plan, premium tier, personal training, insurance, 'Prime' membership) or…

  • Hidden annual/junk fees

    Beyond the headline monthly price the contract adds a yearly 'annual fee' or 'club enhancement fee'…

Lease

10 traps
  • Deposit easy to withhold

    The security deposit is non-refundable, forfeitable in full for any breach, or deducted 'to the landlord's satisfaction' without…

  • Full-term rent on early exit

    A tenant who leaves early pays rent to the end of the term, a flat 'lease-break' fee (often 2 months), full re-letting costs…

  • Lease auto-renewal trap

    The lease 'shall be deemed renewed' for another full term unless the tenant gives written notice 60-90 days before expiry (no…

  • Repairs shifted to tenant

    The tenant declares the property is in 'good and substantial repair' or accepts it 'as-is' (inventory deemed correct unless…

  • Landlord exits free, tenant locked in

    The landlord can end the term early 'for any reason' on 7-30 days' notice, 'in the event of sale', 'if the landlord requires the…

  • Daily compounding late fees

    Late rent triggers flat fees plus per-day charges, 10%+ of rent, interest of 15%+ p.a. or 3% per month, 'notice'/'posting' fees…

  • Self-help eviction/lockout

    On arrears or 'breach' the landlord may change locks, restrict access, cut utilities, 're-enter' and 'determine' the tenancy…

  • Mandatory hidden utility fees

    Compulsory recurring charges beyond rent: amenity/community fees, valet trash, pest control, technology or smart-home packages…

  • Unrestricted landlord entry

    Landlord and 'agents, servants and workmen' may enter 'at any time', 'with or without notice', for viewings or 'any purpose'…

  • One-way rent increase

    The landlord may raise rent during the term at its discretion, to 'market rate', on short notice or more than once a year, or…

  • Forced insurance tie-in

    Loan approval or a lower rate is conditioned on buying life/disability/job-loss/CASCO insurance from the lender's partner…

  • Deferred interest, lost grace period

    A '0%' or grace-period promotion under which interest silently accrues from the purchase date and is charged in full if any…

  • Loan rollover trap

    Payday and МФО loans offer «продление»: pay only interest and the principal rolls into a new term at the same daily rate; some…

  • Unilateral rate/terms change

    The lender reserves the right to change rates, fees, limits or 'any term' at any time, replace the reference index, reduce or…

  • Add-ons packed into loan

    Paid extras — extended warranty, GAP, 'юридическая помощь', 'телемедицина', SMS-informing, card servicing, credit monitoring…

  • Penalty APR, fee pyramiding

    A late fee plus a daily penalty on the overdue amount, re-pricing of the whole balance to a 'penalty'/'default' APR of 29.99%+…

  • Hidden true cost / teaser rate

    The headline rate is a best-case 'representative' or «ставка от» figure; origination, maintenance, statement, payment…

  • Demand full balance anytime

    The lender may declare the entire balance due 'without notice' for any breach — one missed payment, a 'reasonable belief you are…

  • Debt sold to collectors

    The lender may sell or assign the loan and your personal data to third parties (collectors, 'special financial companies')…

  • Enforcement without a hearing

    You pre-agree that the lender may obtain an enforceable judgment without a hearing (cognovit note), collect via an…

  • Prepayment penalty

    A fee or extra interest for paying early, 'precomputed' interest that front-loads finance charges so early payoff barely reduces…

Insurance

10 traps
  • Narrow benefit definitions

    Illness claims barred for the first 14-30 days (pet/health), maternity/dental for 6-12 months, critical-illness benefits need a…

  • Buried policy exclusions

    An 'all-risks' or «полное КАСКО/имущество» headline is hollowed out by an exclusions list in a separate wording (Policy Booklet…

  • Payout shrunk by depreciation

    Pays the depreciated value (ACV, 'с учётом износа', roof-age schedules, 'betterment', monthly-declining sums insured) rather…

  • Investment-life surrender penalty

    Long-term 'savings' policies sold as deposits: early surrender returns a cash surrender value of 0-70% of premiums in the first…

  • Pre-existing condition exclusion

    Excludes any claim 'arising directly or indirectly' from a condition that existed, was diagnosed, treated or showed symptoms…

  • Conduct-based coverage denial

    Cover depends on behaviour and use: 'take all reasonable precautions', alarm set, property not unoccupied over 30/60 days, keys…

  • Hidden sub-limits & deductibles

    Inside the headline sum insured, categories are capped (jewellery $1,500, cash $200, single-article limits, mould, dental…

  • Strict claim notice deadlines

    Notice 'immediately' / 'within 24 hours', a police report within 24 hours, a sworn proof of loss within 60 days, specific…

  • Insurer cancels, you get no refund

    The policy renews automatically from stored card details at a premium inflated relative to new-business quotes, with opt-out…

  • Any inaccuracy voids policy

    The application or policy states that any inaccurate or incomplete answer, or failure to notify changes (new driver, renovation…

  • Long, conditional payment terms

    Payment is due 60-90 days after an 'undisputed' invoice, or only after the client is paid by its own customer, or only after…

  • One-sided unlimited liability

    The vendor must 'indemnify, defend and hold harmless' the client from 'any and all claims' — third-party IP claims…

  • Evergreen B2B auto-renewal

    The agency/vendor contract renews automatically for successive 12-month terms unless cancelled in writing 60-90 days before term…

  • Overbroad IP assignment

    The client takes ownership of everything the freelancer creates — including own-time and unrelated work, pre-existing…

  • Exit asymmetry, one side locked in

    One side may terminate 'at any time for convenience' with no payment for work in progress, while the other may terminate only…

  • Agency holds your assets hostage

    The web/marketing agency registers the domain, hosting, CMS, analytics and ad accounts in its own name, keeps all credentials…

  • Non-solicit / conversion fee

    You may not work with the client's customers, staff or partners for 12-24 months after the contract, may not be hired by the…

Employment

5 traps
  • Fake contractor status

    The contract declares the worker an independent contractor / самозанятый with 'no benefits, responsible for all taxes', yet…

  • Discretionary bonus forfeiture

    The offer advertises a 'target bonus' or commission but the plan says bonuses are 'discretionary', 'not earned until paid'…

  • Post-term non-compete

    After the contract ends you may not work for competitors or clients in the same sector for 1-2+ years, often nationwide…

  • Non-binding offer, long probation

    The offer 'does not constitute a contract', may be withdrawn at any time and is contingent on unspecified checks; probation runs…

  • Training cost clawback

    If the employee leaves (or is fired) within 1-3 years they must repay training costs, sign-on bonus, relocation or immigration…

  • Data sold to third parties

    The operator reserves the right to sell, license or share personal, browsing, location, driving or purchase data with…

  • Bundled consent, cookie wall

    Acceptance of the ToS or оферта is defined to also constitute consent to marketing, profiling, sharing with third parties or…

  • Indefinite data retention

    Retention is defined only as 'as long as necessary', 'for as long as your account exists and thereafter' or 'indefinitely'…

  • Third-party trackers & session replay

    The policy authorises third-party cookies, pixels (Meta, TikTok, Google), analytics SDKs, chat widgets and session-replay tools…

  • Content used for AI training

    The policy or ToS grants the operator (and sometimes affiliates/third parties) the right to use messages, documents, images…

  • Excess data collection (contacts, mic, location)

    The policy authorises reading your address book, clipboard, installed apps, microphone/voice, TV viewing (ACR), camera feeds…

  • Unrestricted cross-border transfer

    Data may be stored or processed in the US or 'any country where we or our service providers operate' with weaker protection and…

  • Sensitive data collection

    The policy allows collecting or inferring special-category data — health conditions, reproductive data, sexual orientation…

  • Default marketing consent/spam

    Providing a phone number or email is treated as consent to advertising by SMS, calls, push, messengers and email from the…

  • Automated profiling, no review

    The operator may build profiles, infer sensitive traits, enrich your record from data brokers and 'publicly available sources'…

  • Weak child age gate

    The service disclaims collecting data from children ('we do not knowingly collect from under 13') while relying on self-declared…

  • Obstructed data rights

    Rights requests must be sent by post or notarized letter, with ID copies or a fee; consent can be withdrawn only 'in writing to…