Testimony in Support of S-2505, concerning Deceptive Trade Practices
Senate Committee on Commerce
March 19, 2024
Alan Krinsky, Director of Research & Fiscal Policy
The Economic Progress Institute supports Senator Gallo’s S-2505, which would protect Rhode Island consumers from corporations that seek to make it difficult, if not nearly impossible, for them to exercise their contractual rights.
We are all familiar with the long contracts displayed in tiny font sizes when we make purchases of goods or services. Such contracts include provisions which provide consumers with rights to action in case of problematic or deceptive products and services. The corporations presenting these contracts already arrange the system in their own favor, whether specifying consumer complaints must go through arbitration or through the courts. What has changed in recent years is that such corporations have added in clauses to make such consumer action more difficult. For example, they may require arbitration as a method but then refuse to pay for the arbitration, preventing consumers from pursuing a matter. Or they create other limitations such as forcing the consumer to absolve the company of wrongdoing altogether or prevent them from joining together in class action suits.
The simple legislation before you today would increase consumer protection by prohibiting corporations from including such clauses to make it difficult for consumers to exercise their rights as consumers. In the language of the proposed legislation, consumers would be protected from any clause “which unnecessarily burdens a person's effective vindication of rights” under Chapter 13, devoted to Deceptive Trade Practices. We urge you to send this legislation to the full Senate.