| Volume 118 Number 3 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
As we make more and more purchases online, we often rely upon online reviews of products. In many cases, a large number of positive reviews of a product can be a useful indicator of product quality. That said, be careful because some online reviews are actually posted by people paid by companies to post positive reviews. This link has tips on how to tell the difference between real consumer reviews and deceptive advertising. Click here for more.
Three Big Banks Have Card Processing Problems
Wells Fargo, PNC Bank and SunTrust had technical issues Friday that affected some debit and credit card transactions, and some Wells Fargo customers weren't able to use their credit cards or access their online account. All of the banks reported that the issues were resolved. Click here for more.
Your Money
"Giving Tuesday" brought in over $110 million for charities last week. Did you know that it is better to give larger amounts (more than $25) to a particular charity because processing costs eat up so much of small donations? Instead of giving small amounts to a few organizations, your charity dollars will do more good if you give the total amount to fewer organizations. This link has tips on how to make your charitable giving smarter. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Arbitration in contract written in English not enforceable when contract negotiated in Spanish and translated into Spanish. A California appellate court held that an arbitration clause contained in a signed contract written in English was unenforceable when the consumer negotiated the agreement in Spanish and also signed a Spanish translation that did not contain the arbitration provision. The court noted that the consumer “is not attempting to avoid the arbitration agreement because of his limited understanding of the English language. Rather, he is relying on the fact that Pena’s Motors provided him with what purported to be a Spanish translation of the English contract he was being asked to sign, a Spanish translation which did not contain the arbitration agreement.” Ramos v. Westlake Services (California 2015) Click here for more.