Cyrus Dugger

Consumer groups say arbitration clauses deny people recourse to courts

From The News & Observer

Consumer groups say arbitration clauses deny people recourse to courts, Sarah Ovaska, Staff Writer

Often without realizing it, consumers sign away some legal rights when they obtain a credit card, cell phone or car loan. In small print at the end of the contract, language states that any disputes will go to arbitration, and not a court of law.

But the arbitration provision is rarely noticed by the millions of Americans it affects — until they run into trouble.

“Unless you happen to be one of those people that reads everything sent in the mail, you wouldn’t be aware of it,” said Tom Stipanowich, an expert on arbitration at the Pepperdine Law School.

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Posted at 2:53 PM, Jan 08, 2007 in Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)