Help us design a consumer survey about mandatory pre-dispute arbitration

On Nov. 1, 2017, the President signed a joint resolution passed by Congress disapproving the Arbitration Agreements Rule under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Pursuant to the joint resolution, the Arbitration Agreements Rule has no force or effect. On Nov. 22, 2017, the Bureau published a notice removing the Arbitration Agreements Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations. The materials relating to the Arbitration Agreements Rule on the Bureau’s website are for reference only.

As part of our effort to study the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer financial contracts, today we are proposing to conduct a nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 credit card holders .

In Section 1028 of the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress instructed us to complete a study about arbitration. We released a Request For Information last year seeking input on the scope, methods and data for the study. A number of commenters recommended we survey consumers, and we agree. Hearing directly from consumers will help us do this job better.

Our proposed survey will explore consumer awareness of dispute resolution terms in credit card agreements. The survey will gather information about consumers’ perceptions, preferences, and assumptions related to arbitration proceedings. And the survey will let us put those findings in context by asking similar questions about court proceedings, including class action cases. We’ll incorporate what we learn from the survey into our study.

We have released a proposed survey questionnaire as well as an initial plan for how we would gather this data.

Comments must be received on or before August 6, 2013 to be assured of consideration. Please let us know what you think.

After this comment period closes, we will refine the proposal based on the feedback we receive, then publish an updated proposal and accept comments on it for another 30 days.