"This would not be an issue if we had been told, at the time of purchase, about this hidden feature of their contracts"


There's your problem. You're operating under the assumption that the clerk has to verbally notify you of each clause in order for it to be valid.


Your second misunderstanding is that it's "hidden". This is also untrue.


Your terms and conditions are physically handed to you. Therefore NOTHING is hidden.


Whether or not you chose to READ those terms is your own decision. No one can force you to read them.



So ... according to your theory, because Ashley didn't "tell" you about the terms, you shouldn't be held to them.

But since it's now proven that you did receive the terms, the real question is... should you be held accountable for a TOS if you don't read the rules?

And the answer is ... yes. It's no one else's responsibility to force you to read what you agree to. It's nice to notify people of special terms, but... it's not required either. And in some cases, people are notified but chose to ignore it or forget.





Or in a nutshell... they owe you nothing. This is a valid charge. And it's one that many retail stores have in their contract.

I know because my own store has the same contract - if you're late on even a SINGLE payment, or you blow off the final amount... even if the balance due is ONE PENNY, you will ow the company the FULL INTEREST.




This is why people need to read their contracts.
Contracts apply to the customers as well as the companies. The clauses don't magically vanish just because you dislike them.