Chase is Reinstating Forced Arbitration on Credit Cards - How to Opt Out

Chase Bank is in the process of reinstating forced arbitration upon its most of its credit card holders.  Chase had abandoned forced arbitration for a while in a settlement with the Obama administration over unfair practices in 2009.  Thanks to an almost complete takeover of the CFPB by lender interests under the Trump administration, Chase is emboldened to reinstate mandatory arbitration even though a comprehensive investigation by the pre-Trump CFPB found that it is unfair to consumers.

Chase is claiming that the arbitration is optional by giving consumers the ability to opt out.  The opt-out process is a bit of a pain in the ass but not crazy-hard.  The cardholder must  mail chase a signed, written opt-out notice. That notice must be received by Chase by the date set in the Chase notice to the cardholder. In the Yahoo post above, the date is given as August 9, 2019. In the notices my family received, it was August 23, 2019.

 I am printing below a version of the opt-out letter that we sent.  There is not phone, email or web opt out procedure.  Note, that there is some chance the opt-out address that you rae given might be different, but if it is the same, you can just cut and paste this notice, add your name and card number, and mail it in.

-------

Cardholder’s Name and address

Chase

P.0 Box 15298

Wilmington DE 19850-5298

Notice of Rejection of Arbitration Provision

Account Number

I hereby notify you that I am opting out of the arbitration provision.

Cardholder Signature

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You don't have to mail it certified mail, but you should have some proof you mailed it.  For example, give it to somebody else to mail, and have them make a note in their calendar that they mailed it.  That will raise a presumption of proof of delivery.

Finally, I want to give kudos to AARP.  They negotiated terms with Chase that removes the mandatory arbitration. If you have a Chase affilliate card with any other entity (especially universities and trade associations) you should write to that entity and advise them that if AARP can negotiate the arbtration term, they should as well.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chase-forced-arbitration-credit-cards-sapphire-192909115.html

Auto Zone accused of 5 Million hazardous waste violations in in California alone - oh, and Data Privacy Breaches Too

Every time I go to an auto parts store - any auto parts store, there's always some bozo pouring nasty stuff into his car, and tossing the container out in the parking lot.  Sometimes there are people with oil leaks, putting in oil, and half of it goes straight onto the pavement.  Therefore, it was not a surprise, when the state of California accused Auto Zone of up to 5 million hazardous waste violations, and it didn't surprise me when Auto Zone agreed to pay $11 million in a consent decree.   From the TTAC.com article above:

From the California Attorney General’s Office:

District Attorneys’ offices throughout California conducted 56 inspections of dumpster bins at 49 separate AutoZone facilities. These investigations found numerous instances of unlawful disposal of hazardous waste including batteries, aerosol cans, electronic devices, and hundreds of discarded bottles and other receptacles containing automotive fluids and other regulated hazardous waste. These investigative efforts revealed that AutoZone allowed its customers to deposit hazardous automotive fluids and other waste items into regular trash containers in AutoZone stores’ parking lots throughout California. AutoZone facilities in 45 counties in California were found by the prosecuting offices to have committed these environmental violations. It is estimated that AutoZone illegally disposed of over five million hazardous waste items in California.
AutoZone also violated laws protecting vulnerable confidential consumer information by unlawfully disposing of customer records without having rendered personal information unreadable.

 The company is getting off easy.

The thing is, Auto Zone isn't necessarily better or worse in this respect than any other auto parts store all over the country.  The whole industry deserves more scrutiny. General retailers selling automotive and household chemicals need more scrutiny as well. I personally believe that there is a law saying every company that sells motor oil must accept used motor-oil for recycling in the same quantity they sell.  Maybe the same should go for other chemicals as well.

How about that? I didn't even pay them anything

I was rated one of the 3 Best Consumer Protection Lawyers in Indianapolis by threebestrated.com.  Congratulations to my friends,  Syed Ali Saeed and Ryan Frasher, who share the top three with me.  All three of us are members of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA).  We have attended conferences together, presented at conferences together, done pro-bono togetherThough to a certain extent we are competitors, as a practical matter, we are more colleagues. We have known each other for years, and spread knowledge for the benefit of all.  I am honored by being included in a list with Ali and Ryan.  

https://threebestrated.com/consumer-protection-lawyers-in-indianapolis-in

Historically, I haven't put a lot of credence in ratings like this.  Some "best lawyers" type publications you basically buy your way in.  In don't know anything about the people that publish this list.  I didn't pay them anything.  Nevertheles, I got a kick out of seeing this.  

Defenders: the Real "Hole in the Wall Gang?"

From WBBM-Chicago

If you get scammed by a home contractor, including security contractor, you should make a complaint with your state attorney general and BBB immediately.  You should also do a Google search to see if there is a pattern and practice.