The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking comment on a new proposed regulation that would prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses that deny groups of consumers their day in court, putting into motion discussions that started toward the end of last year. Arbitration clauses generally require that if there’s a dispute, parties must first try to resolve the issue through an arbitration …
A new proposal by the nation’s chief consumer watchdog could help government regulators and prosecutors stop big banks’ dubious practices more quickly. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday suggested a ban on clauses tucked into contracts for credit cards, student loans and other financial products that prohibit consumers from joining together to sue financial companies for …
Last week, victims of Robert Allen Stanford’s Ponzi scheme filed another class action lawsuit against the law firm that, they allege, helped the former chairman and CEO conceal the fraudulent scheme from government regulators. The named plaintiffs, Sandra Dorrell and Phillip A. Wilkinson, both Texas residents, filed their complaint in the U.S. District Court for the …
New rules proposed on Thursday by a U.S. consumer watchdog would block credit card companies, banks and other firms from forcing customers to waive their rights to join class action lawsuits and settle disputes only through arbitration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said financial firms should be barred from using fine print in contracts that mandates arbitration instead …
If government regulators get their way, it’s going to become a lot easier to sue your bank. By and large, U.S. bank customers have signed away their right to sue their bank in court, often without being aware of it. Buried in the fine print of credit card agreements, bank accounts and insurance policies are what are known as binding, or mandatory, arbitration …
In a major setback for banks, credit unions, credit card companies and many other financial firms, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued a proposal that would ban the use of arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from bringing class-action lawsuits. The 377-page proposal, released to the media a day early, would still allow companies to offer arbitration as a way to …
Have you ever used a credit card? Or signed up for a phone plan? Opened a bank account? Chances are, you also agreed to never sue the company that offered you the service. A massive number of everyday services require us to agree with some kind of written contract. From more significant decisions like taking a loan, to the most trivial, like updating iTunes. The government is now …
As we reported last year, in October 2015 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published an outline of proposals that would limit the use of arbitration provisions in contracts for consumer financial products. On May 5, 2016, the CFPB followed up by releasing a proposed rule that would ban consumer financial services providers such as banks, credit card issuers, and small-dollar lenders …
The nation’s top consumer financial regulator wants to put a stop to that. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a rule Thursday that would ban arbitration clauses, which would affect the entire financial industry and the hundreds of millions of bank accounts, credit cards and other financial services …
Much of the criticism leveled against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the Bureau’s brief five-year history has been centered on claims that the CFPB is too tough on businesses it deems to have engaged in predatory financial activity. This week, however, a large number of prominent national organizations called for the CFPB to get even tougher. A coalition consisting of more …