Don't Assume You Can Sue

While I'm not a great proponent of filing a lawsuit as a means of resolving life's problems, I'm still shocked at how few consumers understand that their right to sue - even in a case of grievous misconduct on behalf of a company - is vanishing. Most consumer contracts these days give you no other option but arbitration... binding arbitration.

CBS News presents one such story (this one principally about cell phone service) and gives you a hint about how rarely consumers come out satisfied - or even modestly served - in such arbitration. For example:

Among the few statistics available are those obtained in a lawsuit against credit card giant First USA. Of more than 19,000 arbitrations for debt collection, consumers won just 87 cases.

A more recent, but small study for the American Bankers Association, found consumers prevailed more than half the time.

Arbitration clauses can help companies avoid class-action suits...

Notice that the protection is on the company, not the consumer.

Again, I think arbitration has a place and that there are definitely people (a small percentage) who abuse the courts - and even companies - wildly. But we've gone from a time when individuals - at least in theory - had rights while corporations did not to one where (through a fairly twisted decision that gave corporations the same protections as individuals) corporations now have far MORE rights and protections than humans. Note, however, how few corporations pay taxes at all; when they do, it's often nowhere near at the level humans do.

Yes, boys and girls, this is why we need to start paying attention to campaign financing. We may pay the politicians through our tax dollars, but the president, the senators, the congress critters and yes, even the Supreme Court justices get their real benefits from corporate America. So guess who they prefer?