Consumers don t have equal bargaining power with large companies, don t have experience with arbitration, and don t have the power to negotiate the arbitration clauses out of the contracts. Also, while consumers unwittingly sign away their right to sue in court, corporations retain their right to take consumers to court. Especially harmful to consumers with small losses , as they prohibit class action lawsuits, thereby prohibiting people from aggregating their small claims into one lawsuit to make it economically viable. Allow the corporation to pick the arbitration service, thus giving arbitration companies incentives to issue pro-corporate rulings. It s like playing in a professional sports leage, and you re playing against a team that has the biggest salaries, chooses the referees, sets the rules, and plays all home games, Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook said.
Consumers can t win in that league.
As a result, consumer or employee access to public courts is blocked. In reaction to growing conern over the issue, Public Citizen is launching a campaign to persuade Congress to end the use of mandatory arbitration clauses. Companies that use these clauses are knowingly tricking their consumers into giving up their rights, Claybrook said. Many people have never even heard of arbitration. Consumers are being denied their day in court.