Want to Sue Your Bank? Regulators Push to Make It Easier
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 Americans use, reports the Associated Press.
“The CFPB’s proposal does have a significant limitation,” the report explains. “The ban would only apply when consumers want to create or join a class-action lawsuit. Financial companies will still be able to force individuals to settle disputes through arbitration; however cases where a lone customer wants to sue his or her bank are far less common.”
The financial industry claims that arbitration is a more efficient way for customers to resolve disputes, and a study commissioned by the CFPB in lends that claim some credence. “However, when large numbers of customers were negatively impacted by the same issue, the same study showed arbitration clauses hinder the ability for customers to seek relief,” the AP report says.
