CFPB: No More Ripoff Clauses

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Consumers already face a stacked deck when taking on a large corporation, but forced arbitration makes it nearly impossible to beat the odds. In forced arbitration, corporations bury “ripoff clauses” in the fine print of contracts to block consumers from challenging illegal behavior in court. Instead, big banks and abusive lenders get to decide who will arbitrate the case, what rules apply, and how much it will cost consumers – with no real opportunity to appeal a bad decision.

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule that places crucial limits on forced arbitration in consumer financial contracts. By restoring consumers’ right to join together to hold companies accountable, the CFPB will ensure that one of the corporate avenues for forcing consumers into the unfair, biased system of arbitration is foreclosed.

But the rule is not yet final – we need people like you to voice their support for the rule during the comment period. We've created a draft comment for you to send to the Bureau, but feel free to add your unique perspective or personal experience with these ripoff clauses to the Comment box!

To: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
From: [Your Name]

Consumers already face a stacked deck when they try to hold large corporations accountable for harms -- but forced arbitration clauses in consumer financial contracts make it nearly impossible to beat the odds. I support the CFPB’s proposed rule to restore consumers’ right to join together and take companies to court when they break the law.

Barring consumers from joining class actions directly opposes the public interest. I urge the CFPB to act on its congressional mandate by restricting the abusive practice of forced arbitration in the final rule.