New CFPB Rule Targets Egregious Contractual Provisions That Harm Consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule that would ban clauses in financial service product contracts that strip away consumers’ freedoms.
Public Citizen’s Access to Justice and Consumer Rights Counsel, Martha Perez-Pedemonti, issued the following statement in response:
“Too often, financial predators rob consumers of their basic rights by embedding abusive clauses in prohibitively long and inaccessibly written contracts. This proposed rule targets some of the most egregious contractual provisions consumers are forced to endure when engaging financial services in America, including provisions that sidestep existing consumer protection laws, suppress consumer speech, amend contractual language by edict, and take away consumers’ rights to due process.
“This important rule proposal further demonstrates the Bureau’s commitment to going to bat for American consumers. We encourage all federal agencies to aggressively tackle widespread consumer harm, as has been the case under Director Chopra’s leadership at the CFPB.
“Should its leadership change down the road, a CFPB that doesn’t advance this proposal will reveal its true colors when it comes to protecting working people.”