This is far from the daily grind, as real-life barristers were called up to the SMARTY coffee ‘bar’ – complete with robes.

The barristers-turned-baristas were spotted outside of King’s Cross Station, at the SMARTY coffee bar, dubbed, ‘Contractually Grinding’. Serving up free coffee alongside
advice on navigating tricky contracts, they were on hand to help the nation to ‘wake up’ to signing up to something they may later regret.

This comes after a poll of 2,000 adults from SMARTY Mobile revealed a third (33 per cent) have regretted getting into a long-term contract, with gym memberships (30 per
cent), mobile phone contracts (30 per cent) and internet service provider contracts (24 per cent) being top of the list of agreements that people that have signed up to, and then found it hard to escape from. Charity direct debits, fitness or weight loss programmes
and personal loans also featured in the top 20 list.

The top moments for contract regret are seeing a better deal available after committing to one that’s hard to get out of (35 per cent), realising there’s still 12 months
left to go (16 per cent) in a current contract, and for one in 10 it’s the first painful payment that brings remorse.

The study also showed 42 per cent get so excited by the shiny thing they’re buying into, they forget to read the small print – with just one in 10 always reading the
finer details, while nearly half have signed up without fully understanding the terms of an agreement.

And contract regret is not a one-off experience, since 33 per cent have found themselves locked into a contract that did not meet their expectations, two fifths (17 per
cent) frequently find themselves wishing they hadn’t signed up for things, with the same percentage being charged a penalty for cancelling a subscription too early.

A canny 42 per cent say they’d be likely to seek legal advice before signing a high-value contract in the future.

Sayed
Hajamaideen, Head of Brand & Marketing at SMARTY Mobile said: “There’s nothing more annoying than contract regret. We know people want more
flexibility, and with many finding themselves locked into contracts they want to get out of, we’re on a mission to educate the public that there are better options out there.

“That’s why we’ve set up a coffee ‘bar’ at King’s Cross Train Station, to help the public with any contract conundrums they may have, serving up free legal advice and
free coffee to wash it down with.”

It’s no wonder that 84 per cent say having flexibility to pause, cancel or change a contract is important, and 79 per cent think contracts for subscriptions should be
easier to exit without penalties; nearly half (49 per cent) of Brits have been caught out by an old, forgotten – and unwanted – subscription renewing automatically.

The SMARTY Coffee Bar, Contractually Grinding, is located at Kings Cross Train Station, and is open on 13th November 2024, from 8am – 4pm, with real-life barrister Sandy
Joseph on hand to answer contract related questions, served up with a free morning pick me up from the sustainable River Coffee.

Sandy Joseph, Contractual Disputes Barrister said: “I know that some contracts can be tricky to navigate, with unnecessary jargon, confusing clauses and pages and pages
of terms and conditions. Hopefully I can help people avoid contract regret, answering any questions they may have over a nice cup of coffee!”