Several consumer groups recently petitioned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for a rulemaking on pre-dispute arbitration.
Petition: Better Markets, the Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, and other groups petitioned the bureau to issue a rule addressing the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration provisions in contracts between regulated entities and consumers of financial products or services.
Comment Deadline: ICBA will submit comments on the petition by the Nov. 14 deadline.
ICBA View: ICBA has pushed back against efforts to restrict arbitration.
In a joint letter to the House last year on legislation to effectively ban arbitration provisions in private contracts, ICBA and other groups said pre-dispute arbitration clauses benefit consumers, with studies showing employees prevailed more often, recovered more money, and resolved their claims more quickly in arbitration than in litigation.
The groups separately told the Senate Banking Committee that arbitration is a fair, effective, and less expensive means of resolving disputes than going to court.