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Your search for “arbitration” produced “223” results
Turns Out That Forcing Customers Into Arbitration Is Not Good For Consumers
By Chris Morran on April 25, 2012 2:15 PM
19 Comments
A year ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion case. It decided that a company could force customers into arbitration — and effectively pre-empt any class-action lawsuits — by including a tiny clause in their contracts. At the time, AT&T had the gall to claim that this was all for the benefit of you, the consumer, but a new study proves what you probably already guessed: AT&T was full of it. More »
Seattle Man Victorious Over Apple In Small Claims Court
By Chris Morran on April 17, 2012 2:16 PM
60 Comments
Chalk up another win for the little guy! A blogger in Seattle says he just wanted Apple to repair his MacBook as the company had promised. When Apple refused, he felt he had no other option but to take the computing colossus to court. More »
Teacher's Aide Claims She Was Fired For Refusing To Give Up Facebook Password
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 2, 2012 5:00 PM
131 Comments
It's not just students that are getting in trouble for having Facebook accounts — one teacher's aide says she was fired from her elementary school for refusing to hand over the password to her social networking account. The teacher is now embroiled in a legal battle with her former employers. More »
CFPB Now Answering Your Finance Questions
By Chris Morran on March 23, 2012 2:15 PM
0 Comments
Want to know who you need to call when disputing an error on your credit report? Are you curious about what a "reverse mortgage" is? Well, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has just launched a new interactive service that fields questions like these and provides answers without all the usual fancy finance jargon. More »
Worst Company In America Sweet 16: Comcast Vs. DirecTV
March 22, 2012 9:30 AM
35 Comments
Welcome to Day 2 of Sweet 16 bloodshed! Unfortunately, because of exclusivity deals, those of you who haven't paid $350 for the deluxe, HD/3D/Smell-o-Vision package will be blacked out from seeing the televised broadcast of these TV titans. More »
Which Worst Company Contenders Force Customers Into Mandatory Arbitration?
By Chris Morran on March 21, 2012 3:30 PM
37 Comments
As we sifted through the mountain of nominations for this year's Worst Company In America tournament, we noticed a trend of readers who cited companies' mandatory binding arbitration clauses as a reason for nominating. And while it's businesses like AT&T and Sony that have made all the headlines for effectively banning class action lawsuits, there are a lot of other WCIA contenders who are forcing customers into signing away their rights. More »
Worst Company In America Round One: AT&T Vs. Verizon
March 19, 2012 12:00 PM
33 Comments
Two telecom titans will step into the Worst Company gladiator pit this afternoon. One will walk out victorious while the other will end up stuck with a huge early termination fee. More »
AT&T Customers Petition CEO To Stop Throttling Unlimited Data Plans
By Chris Morran on February 29, 2012 3:24 PM
34 Comments
The battle over the word "unlimited" has begun, as AT&T customers are fighting back against the Death Star's throttling of so-called "data hogs," even though available info shows that most of these people are using completely reasonable amounts of data for owners of unlimited plans. More »
(andy_57)
Tips For Anyone Thinking Of Taking AT&T To Small Claims Court
By Chris Morran on February 28, 2012 11:15 AM
36 Comments
Last week, a man in California made headlines after his small claims court victory over AT&T for the wireless provider's throttling of his unlimited data plan. Since then, a number of AT&T customers have wondered if they also have grounds for a complaint. More »
Man Sues AT&T For Throttling His iPhone Service -- And Wins!
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2012 5:03 PM
82 Comments
This could be the start of something interesting. An AT&T customer in California was less than thrilled by the Death Star's decision to throttle his iPhone service even though he was on an unlimited data plan. So he went down to small claims court and came out victorious. More »
Why Won't Anyone At AT&T Answer The DSL Cancellation Line?
By Chris Morran on February 24, 2012 3:15 PM
47 Comments
Most phone/cable/internet providers make it a pain in the butt to cancel service, requiring that you call a specific number during certain hours. But the folks at AT&T DSL seem to be going a step further by not even answering the phone when a customer calls up to cancel. More »
(afagen)
U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Consumer Credit Card Claims Must Be Handled By Arbitration
By Mary Beth Quirk on January 11, 2012 12:00 PM
109 Comments
Credit card companies scored a win yesterday, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that credit card claims by consumers must go to arbitration, instead of being tried in a court room. The ruling overturned one made by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco that had said the Credit Card Repair Organizations Act was meant to bar arbitration. More »
Venezuela Owes Exxon Almost $1 Billion For Nationalizing Oil Assets
By Phil Villarreal on January 2, 2012 8:30 AM
33 Comments
In 2007, Venezuela nationalized its oil assets, violating contracts with oil giants such as Exxon. A Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce arbitration panel awarded $908 million to Exxon, and the outcome is being viewed as more of a victory for the country's state oil company than the company. More »
(tubbynj)
Microsoft Makes Gamers Promise Never To Sue It After Xbox Update
By Phil Villarreal on December 8, 2011 8:15 AM
109 Comments
It turns out that shiny new mandatory Xbox 360 update was something of a Trojan Horse that allows Microsoft to twist gamers' arms and make them agree never to sue the company. More »
Wells Fargo Changes Consumer Agreement, Banning You From Suing Them
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 7, 2011 4:00 PM
77 Comments
Jason is a good consumer, and so he made sure to read through a notice from his bank, Wells Fargo, about changes to his consumer agreement. And it's a good thing he did read it, because in it, they informed him he'll no longer be able to take them to court. More »
Consumer Advocates To Starbucks: Change Your Terms Of Service On Gift Cards
By Mary Beth Quirk on December 1, 2011 4:15 PM
54 Comments
Who reads the terms of service on gift cards? Maybe not everyone, but four consumer advocacy groups have your back and are petitioning Starbucks to remove certain provisions in time for the holiday season. More »
Watch Now The Live Senate Hearing On Whether Forced Arbitration Is Fair
By Ben Popken on October 13, 2011 2:00 PM
74 Comments
Here's a live webcast of the judiciary committee's hearing on mandatory binding arbitration going on right now. The title of the hearing is "Arbitration: Is it Fair When Forced?" Arbitration clauses appear in all sorts of consumer contracts and they mandate that in order to use the product or service, you have to agree to give up your right to sue if anything goes wrong. Originally designed for businesses to expedite disputes with other businesses, binding arbitration clauses are now also a popular way for companies to strip consumers of their basic legal rights. Since the hearing is chaired by Senator Al Franken, you know there's bound to be some good zingers. Pop the popcorn and sit back! More »
How To Say No To Arbitration With Your Cable Company
By Ben Popken on October 12, 2011 10:00 AM
27 Comments
Here's something neat. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cablevision/Optimum actually let customers opt out of arbitration when they sign up. If you don't want to give up your right to personally sue them in a court of law and be forced into a kangaroo court overseen by a judge whose fees are paid for by the company you're suing, Cablevision will let you. The caveat is that you have to tell them within 30 days of signing your contract. Here's the links and relevant contract language to opt-out: More »
Senators Introduce Bill To Ban Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clauses In Cellphone Contracts
By Ben Popken on October 4, 2011 4:00 PM
89 Comments
When you buy a new cellphone you have to sign a contract where you give up your right to sue. You agree to what's called, "mandatory binding arbitration." This is a bad thing to give to an industry that has high levels of complaints about hidden fees and abusive anti-consumer practices. Because if their crummy customer service fails to remedy an issue, your last resort option is to participate in a kangaroo court system that is paid for out of fees paid by the cellphone companies themselves. So Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Al Franken (D-MN) have today introduced The Consumer Mobile Fairness Act that would ban mandatory arbitration clauses in cellphone contracts. More »
Sprint Changes Contract, Still Won't Let Me Out
By Laura Northrup on September 22, 2011 11:00 AM
62 Comments
Mobile phone companies have to let you out of your contract if they make a materially adverse charge to your contract. That is, if they raise a fee, impose a charge, or change a rule that applies to the contract you are under right now, they have to let you out of your contract without an early termination fee. (Changing the contracts for new customers going forward doesn't count.) If you want out, this is traditionally your chance, even if companies try to put up a fight.. Unless you're reader Mark, a Sprint customer, who Sprint won't set free. But Mark is no ordinary, naive Sprint customer. He not only reads Consumerist, but he worked for Sprint just a few short years ago. He knows how this is supposed to work. More »
