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Any word if any suits are going against the other carriers for this, as well?
Any word if any suits are going against the other carriers for this, as well?
I agree with you consumerist forced arbitration is absurd. Especially in limited competition sectors such as cell phone providers. It is almost as if racketeering has taken place. There are now four major providers, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and Cingular, who all force ETF's, arbitration contracts, and horrible customer service on their subscribers knowing that consumers can only turn to one of their competitors to fulfill their addictions where they will be treated just as worthless. All the mean while knowing that one of the other three will force customers to them.
Something needs to be done.
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I love California!... So many things that can lose value in other states just don't do that here. We have some really sweet laws. I may not agree with every one, but so far I think we're doing a good job.
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Fantastic! I really hate arbitration clauses, and I sincerely hope that this helps open the door for getting rid of them entirely (too many companies hide behind them; no one should ever have to give up their right to sue, especially in the face of gross negligence).
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the court ruled on class action suits... not sure if this invalidates the arbitration clauses ENTIRELY as the story seems to suggest... or merely applies to the consumer's ability to join in a class action suit.
Well, THIS is going to make for an interesting time at work now. (I work in T-Mobile customer care.)
Never mind that we're not allowed to respond to legal threats in my department, anyway...
Wish it would get to every case, not just class action ones!
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This is the first step towards the future I envision, where you can sue companies in YOUR jurisdiction instead of theirs, software EULA's no longer allow companies to release half-completed or buggy/viral games because you must agree to all their terms to play, Copy protection does JUST THAT. It prevents COPYING, not PLAYING. And the RIAA is declared a criminal racketeering organization, which ends in a bloody showdown with SWAT.
That's pretty awesome. It's almost impossible to avoid these arbitration agreements, and if they're forced upon consumers, it will be really difficult to provide pro-consumer arbitrators, since, after all corporations are their core constituancy. I'd be okay w/ them, if they were unbiased. They're not. So show them the door.
Yay California!