If government regulators get their way, it’s going to become a lot easier to sue your bank, The Associated Press reports.
By and large, U.S. bank customers have signed away their right to sue their bank in court, often without being aware of it. Buried in the fine print of credit card agreements, bank accounts and insurance policies are what are known as binding, or mandatory, arbitration clauses. It means customers are generally required to take any disputes with a bank to a third-party mediator instead of going to court.
The nation’s top consumer financial regulator wants to put a stop to that. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a rule this morning 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 products that Americans use.
The CFPB’s proposal does have a significant limitation. 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.
Under current rules, if a customer has a complaint over disputed charges or a particular practice a bank uses, they’re required to go through a binding arbitration process. Consumer advocates say these arbitrators are often biased and routinely rule against consumers. If a customer loses an arbitration ruling, oftentimes it cannot be appealed.
The financial industry has argued that arbitration is more efficient way for customers to resolve disputes with banks. A study commissioned by the CFPB in March 2015 showed that is very likely the case. It showed customers rarely used the courts to sue their bank for a small claim. 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.
Opponents and critics of the CFPB’s ban say the proposal will only benefit class-action lawyers and lead to gigantic paydays. The proposed rule, if adopted, would go into effect next year.
The financial industry is expected to fight the CFPB’s proposal hard. All the major financial industry lobby groups announced their opposition to it in prepared statements this morning.
