Today is Arbitration Fairness Day

Activists are gathering in Washington today with a simple message:  Forced Arbitration has got to go.

Public Citizen, the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) and other groups are spearheading this effort to bring Forced Arbitration to the attention of lawmakers and the public.

Forced Arbitration occurs when you unwittingly agree to resolve disputes with a company through private arbitration rather than the courts.  Credit card contracts almost always contain a “Binding Mandatory Arbitration” clause.  Since the companies choose the arbitrators, they win about 95% of the time in arbitration.  For more information, see previous blog posts (here and here).

For more info about today’s events and to add your voice to a petition opposing Forced Arbitration, visit www.fairarbitrationnow.org.  For a cool online experience showing why Forced Arbitration has got to go, check out this interactive post from the Consumerist.