Monopoly Man: Equifax can't use 'get out of jail free' card when they break the law
Public Citizen Arbitration Campaign Manager Amanda Werner attended former Equifax CEO Richard Smith’s Senate hearing while dressed as ‘Monopoly Man.’
“My number one priority and the reason that I dressed up as the ‘Monopoly Man’ was to call attention to Equifax and Wells Fargo’s use of forced arbitration as essentially [a] ‘get out of jail free’ card when they break the law,” Werner told the FOX Business Network’s Stuart Varney.
In addition, Werner says there is a bill in the Senate the organization is trying to stop.
“Unfortunately the Senate is currently trying to pass legislation that would take away consumers’ right to sue companies like Equifax and Wells Fargo and we’re trying to stop that.”
According to Werner, it’s not about being opposed to arbitration, but consumers being able to have a choice of what works best for them.
“It’s not that we don’t want arbitration, it’s that we want consumers to be able to choose whether they pursue arbitration or they join together with other consumers in a class-action lawsuit,” Werner said on Varney & Co.
When Varney asked if she wanted Equifax run out of business, Werner responded, “I think that we definitely need a better system for credit reporting. Right now, the way that it works is that consumers are essentially the product of these credit reporting bureaus, we’re not actually their customers, so they don’t feel accountable to us in any way. And right now Equifax, I think, has shown the dangers of that.”