If you’ve ever read the fine print in your credit card agreement, there is a good chance it states you agree to arbitrate any claims and waive the right to bring a class action against the bank that issued it. Such class action waivers may become a thing of the past under a new rule proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The CFPB is the federal agency established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to enforce consumer financial law and further regulate consumer financial products in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis precipitated by the mortgage meltdown. Dodd-Frank prohibited arbitration agreements in home mortgages and authorized the bureau to regulate the use of arbitration clauses in other consumer financial products if it found, based upon study, that doing so would protect consumers and serve the public interest.
