If I am able, I try to opt-out of EULAs’ or TOUs’ clauses that require me to give up my rights to sue as part of a class or to submit to arbitration. I do this even if there is no opt-out option in the contract. When there is no such option to opt-out, I will usually use the mailing address listed in the contract in the section dealing with copyright violations (there usually is something along those lines).
So far, I’ve only been taken to task by one company, Smugmug. <TL;DR> I was a 10+ year paying customer of Flickr, except for the last couple of years when Yahoo was failing so badly. Once Flickr became part of Smugmug, they wanted me to agree to their terms of use. Of course, they demanded I give up my rights mentioned above. So I wrote a letter, opting myself out of just those provisions of the contract. Couple weeks later, I was contacted by Smugmug’s customer support team, telling me my account was deleted. “Why?”, I asked. They sent me a photo of my letter, stating that it explicitly asked them to delete my account.
That was not the intent of the letter, I explained. Rather, it was just those provisions I was declining. The kind customer support person pretty much said, it’s a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. I asked if they were sure, and the Smugmug rep said yes. So that was that. I left.
I have written such opt-out letters to companies such as Sony Computer Interactive Entertainment (because PS4), video game companies (because again, PS4), and even to Stanford Health Care (whose crazy Terms say something about how they can notify you via electronic means, but you have to notify them via US Mail, out of which I also opted).
The only company that has ever responded was Smugmug. I tried to find who their Chief Legal Officer is so I could let her/him know, but my search bore no fruit and I let it go.
More and more, I opt out with the shopworn template I now have.
