Senate Sides with Wall Street, Spites Consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 24 – Following today’s vote in the Senate to overturn a rule that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had passed to bar financial institutions from denying wronged consumers a day in court, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:

“Shame on the Senate for again doing Wall Street’s bidding at the expense of consumers, by voting to strip away a vital protection for all of us who do business with banks and financial institutions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that was overturned today was a safeguard for the rights of consumers ripped off by big banks. The rule upheld the right of consumers to band together and take their bank or lender to court, and stopped financial firms from forcing customers into private arbitration agreements when they are wronged.  According to the Military Coalition, this rule was especially valued by members of the military — who are especially vulnerable to the harm caused by forced arbitration. Now it’s open season once again on unsuspecting consumers, who often find they’ve signed away their rights because of arbitration clauses hidden in the ‘fine print’ of financial agreements.  This action by the Senate is especially egregious in the wake of attacks on consumers’ rights perpetrated by financial giants Wells Fargo and Equifax, which showed us that any of us could fall victim to unsavory behavior by the financial sector, at any time.”