Forced Arbitration Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Americans for Financial Reform

AFR Statement: A Major Step Toward Financial Industry Accountability

“’These clauses rob people not only of their constitutional right to go to court, but of the right to band together with others who have been damaged by the same corporate misconduct,’ said Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform. ‘Each victim is compelled to go it alone, even if the cost of taking action far exceeds the damages in any individual case. Because the process often bars the parties from going public with their stories, forced arbitration serves as a way for companies to keep evidence of wrongdoing under wraps.'”

Joint Statement: Consumer Advocates Applaud CFPB Arbitration Proposal

“Consumer advocates commend the CFPB for taking this crucial step to limit big banks’ and other financial companies’ efforts to escape accountability for breaking the law, and urge the agency to use the full force of its authority to restore consumers’ right to choose how to resolve disputes with financial institutions in this, and every, context in the final rule.”

AFR Statement: The CFPB Takes a Stand on Class-Action Bans

“Class actions, as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg explained in 1997, create room for “vindication of the rights of groups of people who individually would be without effective strength” to object to wrongdoing. Leaving consumers without “effective strength” is precisely the point of the class-action bans found more and more often in contracts governing student and payday loans, credit and prepaid cards, and other financial products and services.”

AFR/CRL Poll: National Survey Finds Bipartisan Opposition to Forced Arbitration as the Issue Heads for a Vote in the House

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now in a position to regulate the practice, a new poll shows strong public sentiment against the use of forced-arbitration clauses in consumer finance contracts. The poll demonstrates wide, bipartisan opposition to forced arbitration as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a multi-agency appropriations bill that would put roadblocks in the way of CFPB action.

Joint Statement: 78,000 Consumers Urge CFPB to End Forced Arbitration

In petitions gathered by AFR and five allied organizations, more than 78,000 consumers urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take swift action against the use of forced arbitration clauses in financial services and products. The CFPB is empowered by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to ban or limit this anti-consumer device in products under its jurisdiction.

Joint Statement: 58 Lawmakers Call for a Strong CFPB Rule on Forced Arbitration

In a letter to Director Richard Cordray, 58 lawmakers urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to use its Dodd-Frank authority to prohibit financial services companies from forcing consumers to resolve disputes in private arbitration instead of court. The CFPB should heed their call, four public-interest groups, including AFR, said today.

Joint Letter: AFR and 105 State, Local and National Groups Call for an End to Forced Arbitration in Consumer Finance

“Few practices are as abusive, unfair, and deceptive as the widespread use of forced arbitration clauses in most consumer contracts, including credit cards, student loans, debt settlement, credit repair, auto financing, and payday loans. Forced arbitration funnels consumers into a private system set up by corporations to protect and hide harmful and unlawful corporate behavior.”

AFR Statement: CFPB Makes a Compelling Case for Banning Forced Arbitration

“In its latest study of forced arbitration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirms what consumers and consumer advocates have long said about this practice: it is a private dispute system stacked against individuals seeking justice. AFR applauds the release of the CFPB’s report, and urges the Bureau to move forward swiftly with rulemaking to prohibit forced arbitration in consumer financial contracts.”

AFR in the News: Wells Fargo, PNC Draw Protest of Arbitration Clauses (American Banker)

“The activists hand-delivered protest petitions Thursday that, they said, contained 67,000 signatures. Arbitration clauses put consumers at an unfair disadvantage in disputes with their banks, the groups said… Consumer Action, Americans for Financial Reform, Public Citizen, the Other 98%, Alliance for Justice, the American Association for Justice and the National Association of Consumer Advocates helped organize the petitions.”

Press Release: AFR joins 8 Allied Groups and More than 67,000 People in Telling PNC and Well Fargo to Stop Using Forced Arbitration

“These non-negotiable terms are one of the ways that companies rig the financial system against consumers and avoid accountability. These terms deny customers access to courts should they seek to pursue legal claims against your company and deprive your customers of important legal protections. The result is that consumers cannot practically or fairly resolve disputes with you or
seek remedies for harm caused by your wrongful conduct.”