Congress Sides With Wells Fargo and Equifax; Denies Customers Their Day in Court

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) -- ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs -- slammed the Senate's vote tonight to strip consumers of their rights by rolling back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) forced arbitration rule. Forced arbitration clauses are regularly tucked into the fine print of financial contracts customers must sign in order to obtain services from banks, credit card companies, payday lenders and other financial institutions. By signing such contracts, customers - often unknowingly - sign away their rights to access the court system if they are cheated.

The CFPB rule banned financial institutions from using forced arbitration clauses and restored customers' rights. The Senate voted tonight to overturn that rule. The House voted to overturn the rule in July. It will now be sent to the White House to be signed into law.

"Forced arbitration takes power away from ordinary people and gives it to big banks and Wall Street companies that already have an unfair advantage," Brown said. "By voting to take rights away from customers, the Senate voted tonight to side with Wells Fargo lobbyists over the people we serve."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule in July of 2017 to restore the constitutional rights of consumers to hold corporations accountable in court when they harm customers. More than 300 organizations that advocate for civil rights, consumers, veterans, students, and seniors have written in support of the rule.

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