Check out this report on ABC News about the unfairness of the private arbitration system forced on consumers by credit card companies and other businesses. I’ve posted about mandatory binding arbitration but this report has an unbelievable example of how stacked the system is against consumers. These binding arbitration clauses are included in the fine print of agreements for credit cards, cell phones, financial services, gym memberships and much more. By forcing consumers to accept arbitration, companies take away a consumer’s right to have grievances heard by a judge or jury. Instead, cases go before a private arbitrator who is hired by the business and who almost always rules against the consumer.
Posts Tagged ‘credit cards’
From Barry Boughton @ Watchdog Blog: The U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) yesterday launched a campaign to scuttle important consumer legislation pending in Congress. The attack is aimed at the Arbitration Fairness Act (S. 1782/H.R. 3010) which is designed to protect consumers, employees and others from having binding arbitration imposed as the only means by which their disputes may be resolved. For those of you who don’t know, the current problem with arbitration is its growing use by business to provide an edge in resolving disputes with their customers – and it’s appearing everywhere. If you have a cell phone, credit card, bank account, auto loan, brokerage account, or a number of other goods services, chances are you’ve signed away your right to sue if things go wrong, without even knowing it!
This recent attack by the Chamber is in response to Public Citizen’s detailed report issued last fall which found that arbitrators employed by the National Arbitration Forum ruled against consumers in 94.7 percent of the 19,000 cases involving credit card holders. Continue Reading >>
