[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","about":"Consumer Law","dateModified":"2024-08-27","wordCount":387,"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/credit-card-arbitration-agreements-under-attack\/","name":"Credit Card \u201cArbitration Agreements\u201d Under Attack","headline":"Credit Card \u201cArbitration Agreements\u201d Under Attack","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/credit-card-arbitration-agreements-under-attack\/","articleBody":"If you own a credit card, you have probably given up your right to a trial in the event of any dispute with the credit card company.\u00a0You probably didn\u2019t know that when you signed up for the card because the information was buried in the fine print.\u00a0You most certainly did not know that the \u201carbitration\u201d you agreed to was rigged in favor of the credit card companies.The truth about the relationship between credit card companies and the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) is that they work together to collect debts, according to a congressional report.\u00a0The report\u2019s findings include:\u201cVirtually all NAF \u201cconsumer arbitrations\u201d are in fact debt collection actions brought by creditors or assignees of creditors, not by the consumers themselves, and almost all consumer arbitrations are decided in the creditor\u2019s favor.\u00a0(Staff Report of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee Majority Staff Oversight and Government Reform Committee House of Representatives).The report also cited major differences between court proceedings and \u201cconsumer arbitrations\u201d.\u00a0These include:A lawsuit must be served on a defendant by a neutral third party. Notice in the arbitration is given by the credit card companyA judge is required to follow the law and is subject to review. An arbitrator is allowed to ignore the law and is not subject to reviewA judge is required to be neutral. The NAF advertises to collection companies that when you explain the process to debtors \u201cthey hand you the money\u201dJudges are randomly assigned to a case and have no interest in the outcome. Arbitrators are assigned by the NAF and have a financial interest in getting more cases. One arbitrator was permanently disqualified by the NAF because he found in favor of too many consumers.The state of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against the NAF.\u00a0The lawsuit alleged that the NAF had close financial ties to the collection industry.\u00a0The suit also claimed that the NAF claimed to be neutral and independent while working behind the scenes to convince credit card companies to add arbitration clauses to their agreements.\u00a0The state of Minnesota reached a settlement that required the NAF to stop conducting consumer arbitrations in Minnesota.If you have been required to arbitrate a consumer dispute with the NAF contact dgahnz@lawtoncates.com for more information about your rights.","description":"If you own a credit card, you have probably given up your right to a trial in the event of any dispute with the credit card company.\u00a0You probably didn\u2019t know that when you signed up for the card because the information was buried in the fine print.\u00a0You most certainly did not know that the \u201carbitration\u201d you agreed to was rigged in favor of the credit card companies. The truth about the relationship between credit card companies and the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) is that they work together to collect debts, according to a congressional report.\u00a0The report\u2019s findings include: \u201cVirtually all [\u2026]","datePublished":"2019-05-19","author":{"@type":"Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f34718d3c46ee2833d3ccf83f7221a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96,"@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f34718d3c46ee2833d3ccf83f7221a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/lawtoncates\/","name":"LawtonCates","identifier":7,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/author\/lawtoncates\/#Person"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lawton-cates-attorneys.jpg","height":550,"width":694,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lawton-cates-attorneys.jpg"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png","height":73,"width":438,"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lawtoncates-logo.png"},"name":"LawtonCates, S.C.","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/credit-card-arbitration-agreements-under-attack\/#Organization1"},"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/credit-card-arbitration-agreements-under-attack\/#BlogPosting"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Credit Card \u201cArbitration Agreements\u201d Under Attack","item":"https:\/\/www.lawtoncates.com\/blog\/credit-card-arbitration-agreements-under-attack\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]