People often hear that in the United States you can sue anyone for almost anything. Every day there are stories about lawsuits ending in huge settlements, giving the impression that the courts are always available to consumers. What many people do not realise is that they may have already agreed to give up that right without ever noticing.
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash
Buried inside the terms and conditions of many products and services is something called a mandatory arbitration clause. By accepting those terms, you may be agreeing that if a dispute arises, you cannot take the company to court. Instead, the case goes before a private arbitrator. Most people never read these agreements, let alone understand that they can limit one of their legal options.
Arbitration is not automatically unfair, and in some cases it can be faster and less expensive than going to court. But critics argue that because companies often choose the arbitration provider and repeatedly appear before the same organisations, the process can sometimes be seen as favouring corporate interests. Whether that perception is justified depends on the circumstances, but it is a reminder that the rights we think we have are not always the rights we have agreed to keep.
Posted Using INLEO
