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Coalition Encouraged by Bank of America's Decision to Stop Using Forced Arbitration; Now Congress Must Act
Consumers have stated loud and clear that forced arbitration clauses are a denial of justice, and Bank of America finally listened. Bank of America, however, is just one corporation among the thousands of banks, private employers, nursing homes, auto dealers, and deposit institutions are still using forced arbitration every day to deny consumers and employees a fair shake.
For Immediate Release: Contact: Angela Bradbery, PC, (202) 588-7741
Aug. 13, 2009 Cora Ganzglass, NACA, (202)
or (202) 452-1989, ext. 103
Coalition Encouraged by Bank of
America
's Decision to Stop Using Forced Arbitration; Now Congress Must Act
The Fair Arbitration Now Coalition is encouraged by Bank of America’s decision to stop requiring its customers to resolve their disputes in the unfair system of forced arbitration. Forced arbitration clauses – which are buried in the fine print of everything from credit card terms and employee handbooks to nursing home admissions forms – eliminate consumers’ and employees’ access to the courts and require that they submit their disputes to a private system designed by corporations to favor their interests. Consumers have stated loud and clear that forced arbitration clauses are a denial of justice, and Bank of America finally listened. Bank of America, however, is just one corporation among the thousands of banks, private employers, nursing homes, auto dealers, and deposit institutions who use forced arbitration every day to deny consumers and employees a fair shake.
Bank of America says it is making this change in response to complaints from its customers. This confirms recent polling conducted by
Lake
Research
, which found that 60 percent of Americans polled oppose forced arbitration. Bank of America has finally listened to its customers, however, thousands of other banks, private employers, nursing homes, auto dealers and deposit institutions are still using forced arbitration every day to deny consumers and employees a fair shake.
These recent developments reinforce what many advocates of fair arbitration have known for a long time – that the system of forced arbitration is unfair to consumers and employees and allows corporations to escape accountability. Only Congress can protect all Americans by passing the Arbitration Fairness Act, a bill that would prohibit the enforcement of forced arbitration clauses in consumer, employment, and franchisee contracts.
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