Underneath All Are the Contracts
Ralph Nader explains the problem with standard form contracts and introduces faircontracts.org.
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Why Consumers with Interest Rates in their Contracts Should Care about LIBOR
Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Commission, explains in the New York Times why consumers with interest rates in their contracts should care about the integrity of Libor–the London interbank offered rate–which is used as a benchmark average interest rate at which large international banks can borrow money.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/07/opinion/libor-naked-and-exposed.html?_r=1
Professor Jeff Sovern on Mortgage Disclosures
Law professor Jeff Sovern, a coordinator of the Consumer Law and Policy Blog, and a member of the Fair Contracts Advisory Board, has an excellent piece in the New York Times today titled “Help for the Perplexed Home Buyer.” He notes that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed new rules to clarify housing loan disclosure…
LIBOR and Bank Manipulation of Interest Rates in Fine Print Contracts
Robert Shapiro explains The LIBOR Mess in the Globalist today, noting that: LIBOR rates are a very big deal, because they are benchmarks for countless other interest rates. The majority of U.S. adjustable-rate mortgages, for example, are set at a LIBOR rate plus two or three percentage points. So are millions of student loans, auto loans…
Fair Contracts Submits Comments to the CFPB on the Forced Arbitration Study
Fair Contracts’ 2012 Contract Reform Team submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau in response to their request for information regarding the study on "pre-dispute arbitration agreements," which we call "forced arbitration." Special thanks to Patrick Gleeson of Loyola University Chicago School of Law for all his work on this project. Citizen Works also…
Fair Contracts Discussed in May 7 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Article
Fair Contracts is discussed in May 7 Chicago Daily Law Bulletin Article on Plain Language Legislation in Illinois, reprinted here with permission.
The CFPB Will Study Forced Arbitration — Time to Submit Comments!
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today that it will study the impact of forced arbitration in consumer financial services contracts, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act passed in 2010. The CFPB is seeking public comments by June 23, 2012. A 2009 Public Citizen Report Forced Arbitration: Unfair and Everywhere, co-authored and researched by the Fair…
Warning! The Fine Print in Contracts May Be Hazardous To Your Wealth.
Here are two differently-sized sheets of downloadable labels so you can pass on the message….
Nader: Airlines Keep Billions From Confiscatory Fine Print on Airline Tickets
Fair Contracts and Ralph Nader made a Freedom of Information Act Request to find out how much money the major airlines keep from those unused, nonrefundable tickets people don’t or can’t or forget to use within the one-year expiration limit set by the airlines in their fine print contracts of carriage terms. It turns out…
The White House and the Federal Trade Commission Issue Privacy Reports
In early 2012 both The White House and the Federal Trade Commission have issued privacy reports, including a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. See Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/privacy-final.pdf See also: Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of…
Three Pieces on Forced Arbitration in the Fine Print
See these three great pieces on Forced Arbitration in the Fine Print http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/opinion/stuck-in-arbitration.html?ref=todayspaper http://centerjd.org/content/fact-sheet-mandatory-binding-arbitration-corporate-end-run-around-civil-justice-system http://www.thepoptort.com/2012/03/mandatory-binding-arbitration-gets-a-super-critique.html