Underneath All Are the Contracts
Ralph Nader explains the problem with standard form contracts and introduces faircontracts.org.
Latest News
Protect Critical Speech! Consumer Freedom to Review Act of 2015 has support across the political spectrum.
Legislation to Protect Critical Consumer Speech IntroducedThe Consumer Review Freedom Act of 2015 has support across the political spectrum. U.S. Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), in a reprise of the 2014 version introduced by Representatives Swalwell and Sherman, have teamed up to introduce legislation that protects…
Fine Print
Check out this video made to help spread the word about FairContracts.org and what consumers should watch for in the fine print of boilerplate contracts. Special thanks to those who worked on it especially Lonnie Ray Atkinson and the whole team of Anitek, Aaron Ryan, Jayson Bimber, Jonathan Baldizon, and Nicole Timmerman. Fine Print from…
CFPB Holds Field Hearing On March 10 in Newark On Forced Arbitration in Fine Print Contracts; Fact Sheet
For hearing location and details, visit here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/save-the-date-newark/ For the CFPB Study Fact Sheet see here. The report is released at 8:00 a.m. EST here. For Citizen Works’ Fair Contracts take, see Bob Sullivan at Credit.com here. For a report by the New York Times on how forced arbitration hurts service members, see here. Some highlights…
David Halperin”s Republic Report on “Mass Actions” in Student Enrollment Agreement Fine Print
David Halperin’s Republic Report on “Mass Action” Ban in Student Enrollment Agreement A critical point in a new enrollment agreement described in detail by David Halperin at Republic Report states: “Students must agree to give up the right to a jury trial. The agreement reads, “By my signature, I acknowledge that I understand that both…
Citizen Works, Alliance for Justice, Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, to Host Event on Lost in the Fine Print, with the 41st Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn
Citizen Works, Alliance for Justice, Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, to Host Event on Lost in the Fine Print this February 27, 2015 at Loyola Law with special keynote by Pat Quinn, the 41st Governor of Illinois In addition to a brief keynote from Pat Quinn, the 41st Governor…
Amato & Nader in the Harvard Law Record on The Strip Mining of Legal Rights
Amato & Nader in the Harvard Law Record on The Strip Mining of Legal Rights The Harvard Law Record reprinted with permission the piece we wrote for Trial magazine on how fine print contracts strips consumers of their rights. The piece is part of their January 30, 2015 issue on “What Harvard Law Students Need…
“What your bank owes you: clarity”
“What your bank owes you: clarity” An OpEd by Professor Lauren E. Willis and Citizen Works’ executive director Theresa Amato in the Los Angeles Times discusses the limits of financial literacy education and the resulting need to enforce the laws, ban class action waivers and forced arbitration clauses, and restructure industry incentives. Excerpt: “Trying to…
Ralph Nader Calls on President Obama to Shift Power from the Few to the Many, Mentions Contract Peonage and Fair Contracts
Ralph Nader Calls on President Obama to Shift Power from the Few to the Many Mentions Contract Peonage and Fair Contracts In a December 22, 2014 letter, Ralph Nader urges President Obama to shift power from the few to the many and suggests several frontiers for Obama to consider in his remaining two years…
Fifteen State Attorneys General Send the CFPB a Letter Urging Regulation of Forced Pre-Dispute Arbitration
Fifteen State Attorneys General Send the CFPB a Letter Urging Regulation of Forced Pre-Dispute Arbitration On November 20, fifteen state Attorneys General sent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a letter urging the CFPB to use its authority to regulate forced arbitration provisions in consumer financial contracts. They wrote: “Mandatory pre-dispute arbitration is procedurally unfair to…
American Law Institute Meets in Chicago on the Restatement of the Law, Consumer Contracts
American Law Institute (ALI) Meets in Chicago on the Restatement of the Law, Consumer Contracts The Members Consultative Group and the Advisers on the Restatement of the Law for Consumer Contracts met in Chicago on November 14 & 15 to continue its work on a draft. Theresa Amato from Citizen Works/Fair Contracts was elected to ALI…