| Volume 96 Number 1 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Have you been bothered by a door-to-door salesman? Under the law, you have three days to change your mind whenever you sign a contract negotiated in your home by a salesperson. The best advice is don't talk to any salesperson who shows up at you door. But if you make a mistake and get talked into a bad deal, the law gives you three days to cancel.
For more general information about the law, check out my website.
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CFPB Wants Credit Card Companies to Offer Free Credit Scores
Although you're entitled to a free copy of your credit report, getting a look at your credit score will usually cost extra. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants that to change. On Thursday, the CFPB issued a press release calling on credit card companies to make credit scores freely available to their consumers.
Fewer than one in five consumers check their credit reports on a yearly basis. Yet, credit is essential for renting or buying a property, getting a new car, obtaining insurance, and much more. With free access to scores that credit card companies already have, the CFPB hopes to arm consumers with credit information they may not be looking for independently. In turn, consumers could more readily identify potential problems, like identity theft, and take appropriate steps for corrective action.
Will credit card companies follow the recommendation of the CFPB?
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Time Warner Adds New Monthly Fee
If you use Time Warner for your cable services, your bill may be a little bit bigger this month. Starting March 1, Time Warner added a broadcasting fee of $2.25 per month to many consumer accounts. However, the fee won't change the advertised price for content, since such fees can be buried within the bill. Critics of the change insist the fee hits consumers twice, since it should have been included in the overall programming price increase.
Are you unhappy with the increase in fees? What are your alternatives?
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Quiznos May Be Preparing For Bankruptcy
With $570 million in debt, a drop in sales, and a growing number of unhappy franchise owners, reports are circulating that Quiznos may be heading for bankruptcy. Insiders have noted that the company has been reaching out to creditors to negotiate restructuring plans. Since restructuring would expedite a bankruptcy process, it has left market analysts to speculate about the future of the company.
Is the popular sandwich shop in trouble? What would bankruptcy mean for the future of the company?
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Your Money
Should you change your tax withholding? Check out this IRS withholding calculator!
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For the Lawyers
No federal presumption of arbitrability until court finds valid arbitration agreement.
A recent Eleventh Circuit case discusses when the federal presumption of arbitrability applies. The court found that the presumption only applies to whether the scope of an arbitration agreement is broad enough to encompass the parties' dispute, not whether a valid arbitration agreement exists between the parties.
The court noted that in Granite Rock, SCOTUS said courts may apply "the presumption of arbitrability only where a validly formed and enforceable arbitration agreement is ambiguous about whether it covers the dispute at hand." It also cited the Second Circuit which has explicitly recognized that "the presumption does not apply to disputes concerning whether an agreement to arbitrate has been made."
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