| Arbitration There are assumptions about what rights you can sign away that get consumers into trouble. You can sign away a lot of things and the courts will uphold it, it just depends. Increasingly, the courts are ruling in favor of arbitration even in extreme cases where the average person would be appalled that the clause was deemed enforceable. There are far too many ways companies manage to do this, and I'm not a lawyer, so I can only comment in layman's terms.
The arbitration clause is common in all kinds of purchases, and is usually so widely used in an industry that it "should" be a contract of adhesion and unenforceable but that's not how it is working out in reality. Arbitration is very common in real estate contracts, particularly home builder contracts and home warranties. Some real estate agents also use it, etc. The trade associations promote it so for example all the builder members will use it. There are so few exceptions that consumers have little if any choice.
Another example is arbitration notices that you get after purchase which you didn't sign, see, or agree to, but they are enforced. Home warranty policies, computer/software, sports event tickets, and so on. MOST of the time the consumer will never have a dispute, so most of the time people never find out how hard it is to get out of arbitration, or how biased and expensive it can be.
Assuming a consumer is one of the tiny fraction who gets out of arbitration, then they still have to fund the lawsuit they wanted to file in the first place. Consumers just do not have a legal dept and deep pockets to fund this kind of battle.
Since arbitration is private, complaints about companies are hidden. Though CA was the exception, the other 49 states do not report, so consumers are missing a lot of important info that could help them choose more reliable companies in the first place. Gag orders in arbitration are common, too, so even the consumer with a story to tell is silenced much of the time.
There are many legal/other theories as to why you should be able to opt out, shop elsewhere, or sue anyway...and most of them aren't working anymore. Definitely opt out any time you have the chance. |
