National Consumers League condemns Senator Cotton’s efforts to roll back long overdue consumer protections – National Consumers League

July 12, 2017

Media contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director:

“After years of careful study and a mandate from Congress, the CFPB rolled out a long overdue rule to protect consumers from forced arbitration. The CFPB’s new rule will guarantee consumers’ rights to join together in a class action. Unfortunately, it took Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and corporate lobbyists less than a day to begin working to undermine this important consumer protection by introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution designed to overturn the rule.

It’s no wonder that corporate lobbyists are so worried about being barred from practicing forced arbitration. Many companies have snuck these provisions into their contracts to protect themselves from being sued for illegal behavior, making them effectively above the rule of law. These odious rip off clauses not only protect corporate wrongdoing, they actually encourage bad practices, because companies know that no matter how badly they act, they face few or no legal consequences. We saw companies hide behind these clauses when Wells Fargo committed identity fraud against their customers, and when Kay Jewelers and Fox News were found to be sexually harassing their employees. While they may try to overturn this long overdue consumer protection, they must not succeed. NCL is committed to protecting consumers from these ‘rip off clauses,’ ensuring that all consumers have access to the justice system, and that corporations are not allowed to abuse their customers and employees with impunity.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.