Stop the Calls, Part 26: the e-sign link texted at 9 PM, and the 6 lines to read first

9:14 PM, a text: "Approved! Sign here to fund tomorrow AM: [link]. Offer expires at midnight."

You talked to this broker once, at lunch. Now there's a green Sign button on your phone, and you're still at the shop.

This is Part 26 of Stop the Calls. Part 25 covered the bank login ask. Today: the e-sign link, and what to read before you tap.

General information, not legal advice. The text above and Fernhill Tire & Lube (a made-up shop) below are invented examples.

Why the link shows up at night

From the industry side: a broker usually gets paid when the deal funds. A night link with a midnight deadline means you read it alone, tired, on a small screen. That's often the point.

And a tap counts. Under the federal E-SIGN Act, a contract can't be denied legal effect just because it was signed electronically (15 U.S.C. 7001).

The tactic: the morning rule

Step 1: don't sign tonight. Screenshot the text and log it in your call log template.

Step 2: get the full contract as a PDF, by email from a company address. Read it in the morning, not inside the link.

Step 3: find these 6 lines.

1. Who you're signing with. The funder's full legal name (Part 24 shows how to check it).
2. What you get. The purchase price, minus every fee taken out before the money lands.
3. What you pay back. The total, in dollars. Some contracts call it the purchased amount.
4. How it comes out. The daily or weekly debit, and the percentage of sales it's supposed to match.
5. Who else is on the hook. Look for a personal guaranty, and for a confession of judgment clause.
6. What counts as default. Other funding, changing banks, or a missed debit can show up here.

Step 4: put the numbers side by side. If the PDF doesn't match what was said on the phone, stop.

The script

"I don't sign links at night. Email the full contract as a PDF from your company address, with the funder's legal name and the total payback in dollars. I'll review it tomorrow and reply by email. If the offer can't wait one day, I'm not interested, and please put [phone numbers] on your internal do-not-call list."

Fernhill's owner sent it at 9:20 PM. The PDF came the next morning. It showed a $40,000 purchase price, $2,400 in fees taken out first, $37,600 deposited, and $56,000 paid back at $560 a day. On the call, the broker had only said "$40K." The owner passed.

How we use AI on this

When we help an owner, an AI pulls the 6 lines out of the contract to check against the call notes. Try it in any AI chat with the PDF:

"Here is a business funding contract. Find the funder's legal name, the amount I receive after fees, the total I pay back in dollars, the daily or weekly payment, any personal guaranty or confession of judgment, and what counts as default. Quote the section for each one, and say if something is missing."

AI can misread a contract, so check each answer against the page it quotes.

The rules behind it, and where they stop

• An e-signature counts like ink for most contracts: 15 U.S.C. 7001
• There's no federal 3-day cancel window here. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule covers consumer goods or services sold in person away from the seller's place of business (16 CFR 429.0). A business funding contract signed from a text link is outside it.
• Some states require written disclosures before you sign, such as the total repayment amount (California DFPI, New York DFS).
• Business lines aren't covered by the National Do Not Call Registry at all. It's for personal numbers: FTC Do Not Call FAQs

Rules differ by state, and none of this promises an outcome. Before you sign a guaranty or a confession of judgment, ask a licensed attorney what it means for you. More in Know Your Rights, and alternatives in MCA alternatives.

Your checklist

1. No signing at night.
2. Get the PDF by email.
3. Find the 6 lines and compare them with the call.
4. No answer by email? No deal.

Coming in Part 27: the broker who calls back the morning after you said no.