When you’re required to sign documents or agreements, pay attention to the numbering of pages. One of the dirty practices is for the adverse party to omit a page that contains sensitive and dangerous clauses, which they later insert into the copies after your signature. They can also insert it only into their copy if they can’t lay hands on yours. Theirs is likely to be admitted in evidence and I’ll explain how they do it.
Let’s say there is a document of 50 pages. They’ll number each page from 1 to 50, but when sending you the document, they’ll omit page 33 (which has very sensitive clauses that are not favourable to you). Page 32 will usually be an end of a part of the document, while 34 will be the beginning of another (obviating the likelihood of you suspecting foul play).
When you sign it, they might require you to forward the copy for them to sign, then they’ll sneak in page 33, which is likely a page with hostile clauses. You’ll realise there is such page in your document when it is too late. If they’ve signed before it gets to you, they won’t need to require you to send it back, but they will put the page in theirs, since it has been executed by parties.
When the matter degenerates into a lawsuit, the Court is more likely to believe them than you, because if page 33 is missing from a document of 50 pages and the said page is the heart of the matter, it would be taken that you removed it to evade liabilities.
Be very careful, but then, have a thorough lawyer by your side. Those devils do wonder.
Be careful. A “simple” mistake can sink your fortune. This is one of the discoveries I’ve made and it is happening for the 3rd time in my career life.
Worth sharing.
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