Arbitration Clauses and Consumer Financial Disputes
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Study
In Section 1028(a) of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress instructs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to study “the use of agreements providing for arbitration of any future dispute … in connection with the offering or providing of consumer financial products or services,” and to provide a report to Congress on the same topic. The advantages and disadvantages of pre-dispute arbitration provisions in connection with consumer financial products or services — whether to consumers or to companies — are fiercely contested. Consumer advocates generally see pre-dispute arbitration as unfairly restricting consumer rights and remedies….
