Consumerist is no fan of mandatory binding arbitration, a clause in many consumer contracts that forces you to give up your right to sue in small claims court and have all disputes resolved by a professional arbitration firm that gets paid directly by the companies. So when I saw that there was an way to opt-out of T-Mobile’s arbitration clause online, I was stoked. Then I tried to go there, and the site was broken. Fail phone! UPDATE: T-Mobile Fixes Broken Arbitration Opt-Out Site

According to T-Mobile’s T&C, the site is www.t-mobiledisputeresolution.com. It’s not up. Whois.net says it was registered in May ’08 and is owned by T-Mobile.

I’ve asked T-Mobile for when they think they’ll have it up by. In the meantime, you can also opt-out over the phone at 866-323-4405.

You can only opt-out within 30 days of a new contract, though. So I guess if you have a unresolvable consumer complaint where you have experienced a material loss and you’re over a month into your contract, the thing to do is to extend your contract, then opt-out of arbitration, then take them to small claims court.

To learn more about arbitration and why it stinks, play this choose your own adventure game, see 9 reasons it should be banned, or simply consider the fact that most arbitration firms rule against consumers 95% of the time.

(Thanks to Chan!)

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