Got a Credit Card or Bank Account? Scrutiny of Forced Arbitration Is Good News
We expect that any fair examination of forced arbitration will conclude that the practice is devastatingly harmful to consumers. The most critical step, then, will be for the CFPB to ban forced arbitration, ensuring that arbitration is always voluntary for consumers – not a kangaroo court or a tool for law-breaking corporations to insulate themselves from accountability.

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU LAUNCHES PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO ARBITRATION CLAUSES
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a public inquiry into how consumers and financial services companies are affected by arbitration and arbitration clauses.

Pulte Homes Reschedules Official City Council Meeting
Pulte made a last minute request to change the date of the schedule meeting before the Clermont City Council.  Pulte took matters into their own hands and placed their own signs with their own dates.  See Pulte Sign Notice.

Angry Schertz homeowners decry lack of progress
In the Fairhaven subdivision in Schertz, the faults are readily apparent in this Pulte-built community: cracking walls, sidewalks, driveways and more."We have let them in our house multiple times to fix our problems and now ... my foundation is patched,” Hollestelle said. “They call it fixed."... Janet Ahmad, of Homeowners for Better Building, said builders are not held accountable for mistakes. "They get nothing when they build a bad house,” Ahmad said. “They don't get a ticket, they don't lose their license.

Buyer Had Adequate ‘Clickthrough' Notice of Terms
An AT&T customer will have to arbitrate claims individually, rather than pursue class claims in court, after a federal court decided March 26 that an online “clickthrough” process provided adequate notice of an arbitration agreement.  The plaintiff, Richard Sherman, sought to litigate an overcharge claim against AT&T Inc. in federal district court on behalf of a class...The online registration notice to the plaintiff did not explicitly mention the arbitration clause, the court acknowledged. But it did say, “other conditions and restrictions apply,”

Americans brace for next foreclosure wave
Half a decade into the deepest U.S. housing crisis since the 1930s, many Americans are hoping the crisis is finally nearing its end. House sales are picking up across most of the country, the plunge in prices is slowing and attempts by lenders to claim back properties from struggling borrowers dropped by more than a third in 2011, hitting a four-year low.

U.S. Battles Home Builder Over Pay Probe
The Labor Department has stepped up pressure on PulteGroup Inc. in what has become a nasty battle between the Michigan-based home builder and the Obama administration over an investigation into the housing industry's pay practices. The department filed a petition in federal district court in Michigan on Feb. 28 seeking to compel Pulte to produce thousands of records related to its employees and subcontractors, as requested in a subpoena it sent the company last year. ...Federal officials issued the subpoena as part of a broader investigation into pay practices of at least five national home-building companies. Related article: U.S. Hits Builders With Pay Probe       Pulte Homes Under U.S. Labor Dept. Investigation
The Boston Global: Pulte Homes contractors fined for failing to pay workers and taxes    

Stablewood Farms residents say builder never told about old sewer plant
Several homeowners in a southwest San Antonio neighborhood say they were not told their homes were built over an old sewer treatment plant and are demanding the builder buy back the homes. Residents in Stablewood Farms, some wearing radiation suits and gas masks, were waving signs in protest on Monday outside the D.R. Horton corporate officers.

Residents fear another retaining wall disaster
Residents living in the Fairhaven subdivision have been asking builder Pulte to buy back their homes for awhile now. They told News 4 WOAI they are concerned a retaining wall in their neighborhood could come tumbling down. "I feel this is unsafe, the wall is already starting to separate, " said homeowner Bruce Touve. Neighbors said the cracks and separation along the retaining walls isn't sitting well with them.

Fairhaven residents: Dream home a nightmare; Pulte should pay
“The last thing we need is to have this wall come crumbling down into our bedroom," Mendoza says. “I wake up in the middle of the night. I wake up in the morning thinking about it.”  Related photos: Building Pulte Walls with no Foundation