Consumer Confidential: Government May Soon Begin Putting an End to Forced Arbitration Clauses
If you’ve got a credit card, you’ve been forced to kiss away your constitutional right to sue the card issuer. But it’s looking increasingly likely that this is about to change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is examining so-called arbitration clauses in terms and conditions for financial products. Earlier the month, the head of the bureau, Richard Cordray, sent the strongest signal yet that the regulatory whip soon will...
Consumer Confidential: Right to Gripe Is Denied by Some Firms
Increasingly threatened by the prospect of bad reviews on Yelp and similar websites, some companies have a message for customers: Shut up — or else. You might not know it, but you could be giving up your right to criticize a business publicly if it has a so-called non-disparagement clause in its terms of service. Clicking “accept” or signing your name on the bottom line means you could be hit with thousands of dollars in penalties if...
Consumer Confidential: Credit Card Issuers Shouldn’t Bully Customers Into Arbitration Clauses
Credit card companies say you can’t sue them and you can’t join other customers in suing them, and if you don’t like it, tough. Federal regulators finally have reached the obvious conclusion: That’s not fair. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a study showing that so-called arbitration clauses in credit card service contracts frequently prevent consumers from having a grievance adequately addressed. “These...
