Five years ago, Jordan Fogal’s dream house was turned a living hell after her builders ripped her off with shoddy construction and then hid behind the arbitration clause in the contract. Now she’s become a crusader against mandatory binding arbitration. [More]
arbitration
Liveblogging The House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On The Arbitration Fairness Act
By 10.25.07
Consumers may finally escape from the clutches of mandatory binding arbitration if the House Judiciary Committee smiles favorably today upon the Arbitration Fairness Act. Arbitrators rule against consumers in more than 98% of all disputes; the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law is currently meeting to consider H.R. 3010, which would restore consumers’ rights to resolve disputes fairly and openly.
National Arbitration Forum Decides 61 Year Identity Theft Victim Owes $46,000
By 10.15.07
Yahoo! Finance has a horrible story about a 61 year old lady living on $759 a month Social Security whose credit card was stolen and it ended up with the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) deciding she owed them $46,000. [More]
Arbitration Firms Are Godless Bloodsuckers
By 10.2.07
n 2006, Richard Neely, a retired chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court, penned an article for The West Virginia Lawyer entitled, “Arbitration and the Godless Bloodsuckers.” The National Arbitration Forum asked him to be an arbitrator one time and Neely described his experience: [More]
Arbitration Firm Rules Against Consumers 95% Of The Time
By 9.28.07
A popular arbitration firm, the National Arbitration Forum, only finds in favor of consumers 5% of the time, a new study released today by advocacy group Public Citizen reports. [More]
Example Home Builder's Contract With Arbitration Clauses
By 9.12.07
This sample contract from Texas shows how many of your rights some builders try to make you throw away as a condition for using their services. It’s all right there in print, sometimes even capitalized, no right to a court or jury trial, evidence is limited, no recovery of attorney’s fees, no class actions are allowed, etc etc.
9 Reasons To Ban Mandatory Binding Arbitration
By 9.10.07
Mandatory binding arbitration is great for businesses to use in dealing with one another, but it sucks for consumers. Here’s 9 ways you get screwed in arbitration land, courtesy of the National Association Of Consumer Advocates… [More]
Opt Out Of USAA's Arbitration Clause
By 9.4.07
USAA dropped a goose-egg in my mailbox today, a letter informing that there’s a new arbitration agreement being added to my AMEX contract. Lovely, I just love being stripped of my rights to a trial with due process.
Opt Out Of E*TRADE's Arbitration Clause
By 8.29.07
Reader Jeff perused the contract for his new E*TRADE account and found not only a big wonkin’ arbitration clause in there, but a successive clause actually giving you a chance to opt out of it and retain your rights to not have disputes moderated in a corporate monkey court beyond the reach of law. [More]
Jordan Fogal Responds To Your Comments About The Rotten Lemon Tremont Homes Sold Her
By 8.21.07
Two: We did not understand the true ramifications of arbitration, or it’s unfairness. No one who has not been caught in this snare does. We did not know that almost always big business wins. We thought it was like, OK kids lets sit down and not argue and fix this situation. We did not know the system was rigged. We did not understand the builders were repeat clients and the arbitrators meal tickets. No one understands arbitration companies are just the middle men. You still have to put on a trial and have all the costs associated: witnesses, subpoenas, expert testimony you even have to pay for the room to hold the arbitration in… We would not have had to pay a judge as we did an arbitrator or room rent or the astronomical fees charged by arbitration companies. Our arbitration fees alone were $9300. dollars. That does not include going to the kangaroo court where the rules of law no longer apply behind close doors. That was nearly $30,000 dollars…
Tremont Homes Sells Rotten Lemon, Provokes Victimized Homebuyer Into Five-Year Consumer Crusade
By 8.20.07
“We always wondered what life would be like in our sixties, our credit is ruined; we have stored, sold, and given away years of our memories; and for the last three years we have been holed up in a third story apartment.
Cingular's Class Arbitration Waiver Ruled "Unconscionable" By 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals
By 8.17.07
Like many many companies, Cingular has a little thing in their contracts saying that if you use their service, you void your right to a class action lawsuit and instead have to go through “mandatory binding arbitration,” which is basically an extra-judicial corporate court exempt from many of the basic rules and laws and procedures and rights of real court. Well, today, that clause was ruled “unconscionable” by the 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals. Therefore, lawsuits can proceed against Cingular and go to real court, not monkey court. Hooray!
By 8.16.07
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Mandatory binding arbitration is so bullshit that the opposing attorneys don’t even show up to the hearings. [Credit Slips]
Arbitration Firms Fail To Disclose Conflicts Of Interest In Consumer Disputes
By 8.13.07
The Donald’s lost 80% of their $60 mil stock portfolio after following the advice of Piper Jaffrawy, which told them to keep their money in Level3 Worldcom stocks well after the tech bubble imploded, the New York Times reports. As of April 18th, 2001, the firm still rated Level 3 a “strong buy,” even though the stock had dropped to $13.06 from $50…
MBNA Refuses To Appear For Binding Arbitration, May Still Prevail
By 8.11.07
Elizabeth Warren, the doyenne of consumer debt, received a frank email from a lawyer that shows the anti-consumer bias of binding arbitration. The lawyer was attempting to arbitrate a dispute with MBNA, a difficult task complicated by the bank’s refusal to participate.
Montgomery County Warns Its Residents About Comcast's Unfair Arbitration Clause
By 7.31.07
Montgomery County, MD, also known as the county that fined Comcast $12,281.84 for not answering the phone quickly enough, has issued a press release warning consumers to opt-out of Comcast’s unfair arbitration clause.
Why You Should Support The Arbitration Fairness Act
By 7.27.07
A glimmer of hope has opened up for consumers concerned about entire industries systemic and wholesale stripping of their right to resolve disputes by trial rather than by arbitration firms whose fancypants are bought and paid for by the corporations they’re umpiring. This ray is The Arbitration Fairness Act, and as introduced in the Senate by Feingold, Russell D. [WI], the part the bill that applies to you says: [More]
Support The Arbitration Fairness Act
By 7.26.07
Let’s end mandatory binding arbitration. Companies force consumers to revoke their right to lawsuit by embedding language in terms of use contracts that say in the event of any dispute, both parties have to go to an arbitration firm, which the company pays for… The Christian Science Monitor found that the top 10 most used arbitration firms only found in favor of consumer 1.6% of the time. Is it any wonder they’re so popular?
