Poor choice of arbitrator's

[Nana2709]

Petty shocked with the choices they gave me. A all Caucasian panel. No diversify what so ever. I asked why not? Only one Africa American arbitrator but he doesn't deal with pro se parties. 

So I asked for a one week extension to review my choice.  

"No objection from Discover Bank.

Thank you,"

"

[BV80]

3 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

Petty shocked with the choices they gave me. A all Caucasian panel. No diversify what so ever. I asked why not? Only one Africa American arbitrator but he doesn't deal with pro se parties. 

So I asked for a one week extension to review my choice.  

"No objection from Discover Bank.

Thank you,"

"

I would be more concerned about qualifications and professionalism.

BTW, please keep all of your questions and comments in one thread rather than starting a new thread for every issue.  

[Nana2709]

13 hours ago, BV80 said:

I would be more concerned about qualifications and professionalism.

BTW, please keep all of your questions and comments in one thread rather than starting a new thread for every issue.  

Understood. 

I'm a person of ethic background and would have liked at least to have that as an option. Not necessarily the biggest indicatior of who I would have picked but just little taken back. 

They're all judges btw

[LaneBlane]

13 hours ago, BV80 said:

I would be more concerned about qualifications and professionalism.

BTW, please keep all of your questions and comments in one thread rather than starting a new thread for every issue.  

I agree with BV80.  You should focus on the qualifications of the arbitrator.

When I provided JAMS with my arbitrator list, I made my decisions based on the professional background and extracurricular activities and volunteer work of the arbitrators presented to me.  I avoided those I felt would be more likely to side with a financial institution, and chose the individuals I believed would be fair towards consumers.

[Harry Seaward]

23 minutes ago, Nana2709 said:

I'm a person of ethic background and would have liked at least to have that as an option.

If there's some legitimate racial basis for why you stopped paying your Discover bill, you need to speak to a civil rights attorney ASAP. Otherwise, your ethnicity and that of the arbitrator is completely irrelevant to your arbitration case. 

[Nana2709]

20 hours ago, BV80 said:

I would be more concerned about qualifications and professionalism.

BTW, please keep all of your questions and comments in one thread rather than starting a new thread for every issue.  

Please see my settlement letter to them this is after paying the commencement fee: but before paying the arbitrator fees. Can you give me some guidance on settlement offer? 

 

Hi xx

 

I want to see if you and I can talk a little before we go any further into arbitration.

 

1. In January 2019 my mom died of cancer

2. 2 weeks later my spouses mom fell asleep and died 

3. 4 days after that my sister was in a car accident and has been in a coma since then

4. 3 months ago father has been transferred to hospice and has been given 4-6 months to live (out of country)

5. My contract with my employer ends on 11-31-2019, and I am leaving to spend the last days with my dad. Tickets were bought before arbitration was submitted. 

 

I do not have a job as of 11-31-19, and medical bills have wiped me clean. I am in the middle of packing and preparing to visit the final days with my father. These are facts referenced above. Due to confidentially I can't provide my sisters medical records.My fathers hospice letters I do have. His is last stages of cancer which I rather not show as its a very aggressive cancer.

 

What can I do to wrap this matter with discover, as I will not be here for the next 4-5 months. Can I seek continuances to 4-5 months, or do you want to try to settle the matter? 

 

Please let me know

 

 

Please note any offers to settle is not a admission of guilt, it is without prejudice and to save cost to both parties moving forward. 

[Nana2709]

7 hours ago, LaneBlane said:

I agree with BV80.  You should focus on the qualifications of the arbitrator.

When I provided JAMS with my arbitrator list, I made my decisions based on the professional background and extracurricular activities and volunteer work of the arbitrators presented to me.  I avoided those I felt would be more likely to side with a financial institution, and chose the individuals I believed would be fair towards consumers.

Can you share your arbitration express with me? 

[WhoCares1000]

You are not going to get a 4 - 5 month continuance. You will be lucky to get 90 days and more likely get 30 days.

Sounds like your BK lawyer wants you to have little - no income for 6 months so that you pass the tests for Chapter 7. I hope you are not paying medical bills for your mother or sister because you really were not responsible for those bill.

As for settlement, they have the goods on you and they know it. I would be shocked if they went below 80% of the debt and I would expect them to want more than that. You do not hold as good of cards against an OC that you would against a JDB.

[nobk4me]

23 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

Understood. 

I'm a person of ethic background and would have liked at least to have that as an option. Not necessarily the biggest indicatior of who I would have picked but just little taken back. 

They're all judges btw

I agree with the folks here who have said to focus on the background and experiences of the potential arbitrators, not their ethnicity.

Not all white people are your enemy, and not all people of color are your friends.  For example, in the Chicago JAMS office there is an African-American woman arbitrator,. with the last name same as two recent presidents (41 and 43), who has a reputation (based on reports of people who had her as the arbitrator in their cases) as being anti-consumer and pro-creditor.

[Harry Seaward]

99% of your letter explains why you have nothing to give Discover, and then you finish by asking if they would be willing to settle with you. This is a confusing message to send them. 

Even if Discover got an arbitration judgment against you today, they are a minimum of a month away from being able to take a dime from you. By that time you'll be unemployed and in another country. If this were me, i would just drop the whole thing and walk away. Focus your energy on your family and personal affairs. Lay low for a couple months after you get back, and then file bankruptcy. Oregon is not a community property/debt state, so unless you and your spouse opened this account jointly, they probably can't go after him/her to collect it, and his/her income likely won't be factored in your bankruptcy. 

[Nana2709]

1 hour ago, Harry Seaward said:

99% of your letter explains why you have nothing to give Discover, and then you finish by asking if they would be willing to settle with you. This is a confusing message to send them. 

Even if Discover got an arbitration judgment against you today, they are a minimum of a month away from being able to take a dime from you. By that time you'll be unemployed and in another country. If this were me, i would just drop the whole thing and walk away. Focus your energy on your family and personal affairs. Lay low for a couple months after you get back, and then file bankruptcy. Oregon is not a community property/debt state, so unless you and your spouse opened this account jointly, they probably can't go after him/her to collect it, and his/her income likely won't be factored in your bankruptcy. 

Thank you. 

 

I am married. Have a house. Don't qualify for chapter 7 due to asset in home. My spouse is not on anything just me. I don't want a judgment by default. I plan on fighting all the way. 

 

1. at first one I did the balance transfer which was over a year ago I was told that I would get a 24 month balance transfer and then received an email stating it was an error on their side and I was only qualified for 12 months.

 

2. right prior to my balance transfer expiring I sent them an e-mail opting out of the APR increase but they told me I did not qualify for that and did not send me the 45-day letter that they needed to to increase my APR

3. by looking at my statement I can see that my due dates are different every month they should be consistent and on the same date but they kept changing my due date does charging me late fees when late fees should not have been charged.

 

There's some other issues as well and I will bring all that to the table. I just need the time to be able to put my dad's matters to rest.

 

[Nana2709]

1 hour ago, Harry Seaward said:

99% of your letter explains why you have nothing to give Discover, and then you finish by asking if they would be willing to settle with you. This is a confusing message to send them. 

Even if Discover got an arbitration judgment against you today, they are a minimum of a month away from being able to take a dime from you. By that time you'll be unemployed and in another country. If this were me, i would just drop the whole thing and walk away. Focus your energy on your family and personal affairs. Lay low for a couple months after you get back, and then file bankruptcy. Oregon is not a community property/debt state, so unless you and your spouse opened this account jointly, they probably can't go after him/her to collect it, and his/her income likely won't be factored in your bankruptcy. 

also even if a spouse is not filing bankruptcy in Oregon and even though it's a non community property they are in the house and their income dies count as an asset as well. I am making settlements along the way that way if I get handed a judgement against me at least I can show that I was trying to make settlements and the bank was being unreasonable that I should not have to pay for the attorney fees I only plan on offering $500 anyway.

[Clydesmom]

23 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

1. In January 2019 my mom died of cancer

2. 2 weeks later my spouses mom fell asleep and died 

3. 4 days after that my sister was in a car accident and has been in a coma since then

4. 3 months ago father has been transferred to hospice and has been given 4-6 months to live (out of country)

5. My contract with my employer ends on 11-31-2019, and I am leaving to spend the last days with my dad. Tickets were bought before arbitration was submitted. 

Unfortunately as sad as these situations are not one of them is a defense to this case.  Neither the courts nor an arbitrator are going to consider any of it.  In fact any attempt to introduce it most likely will be immediately shut down.

5 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

I am making settlements along the way that way if I get handed a judgement against me at least I can show that I was trying to make settlements and the bank was being unreasonable that I should not have to pay for the attorney fees I only plan on offering $500 anyway.

ZERO chance that Discover is going to settle for less than 10% of the debt.  They have everything they need to win in arbitration or court.  Once they get a judgment the courts are not going to care one iota what you "tried to do" or that you believe they were acting "unreasonable".  The only thing that will matter is they have a judgment and can proceed to debtors exam, bank levy and garnishment to collect.

[Nana2709]

1 hour ago, Clydesmom said:

Unfortunately as sad as these situations are not one of them is a defense to this case.  Neither the courts nor an arbitrator are going to consider any of it.  In fact any attempt to introduce it most likely will be immediately shut down.

ZERO chance that Discover is going to settle for less than 10% of the debt.  They have everything they need to win in arbitration or court.  Once they get a judgment the courts are not going to care one iota what you "tried to do" or that you believe they were acting "unreasonable".  The only thing that will matter is they have a judgment and can proceed to debtors exam, bank levy and garnishment to collect.

They can. These are not and admission to anything rather a chance to settle. If they're are interested they can counter offer or not. I'm fight to fight them all the way. We're going to go all the way to 3tier appeal and then when and if I lose I'll file BK. Not going to make it easy for them. 

[Harry Seaward]

11 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

Not going to make it easy for them. 

Why?

[BV80]

11 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

They can. These are not and admission to anything rather a chance to settle. If they're are interested they can counter offer or not. I'm fight to fight them all the way. We're going to go all the way to 3tier appeal and then when and if I lose I'll file BK. Not going to make it easy for them. 

What does the cardmember agreement say about an appeal of the arbitrator’s ruling?

[Nana2709]

1 hour ago, Harry Seaward said:

Why?

Why what? 

[Harry Seaward]

Just now, Nana2709 said:

Why what? 

I quoted the part of your post that said you weren't going to make it easy for them, and asked why.  Why are you not going to make it easy on them?  They are going to win anyway.  What's the point of letting this consume you for the next 6-12 months?  It serves no legitimate purpose at all.

[Nana2709]

21 minutes ago, Harry Seaward said:

I quoted the part of your post that said you weren't going to make it easy for them, and asked why.  Why are you not going to make it easy on them?  They are going to win anyway.  What's the point of letting this consume you for the next 6-12 months?  It serves no legitimate purpose at all.

Why would I make it easy? I'm confused.

[WhoCares1000]

18 hours ago, Nana2709 said:

Why would I make it easy? I'm confused.

Because among all the other cases that they have, you would be forgotten and they might not make an effort to collect from you before you do the BK, especially if you remove your name from all property and bank accounts while you are away. If you go through with this and make their life hell in getting the arbitor's award, the first thing they will do is convert that into a judgement (and if you try to fight that, the judge is going to laugh at you once they show what you did in arbitration because the judge will know that you had your chance to defend yourself). Once they get the judgement, they will immediately do anything in their power to collect, making your life a living hell, even if you are outside of the USA. Do realize that even if they will not make any money, they can foreclose on your house if they have a lien on it, just to show you the power they have (most creditors would not do this in most cases but if you piss someone off enough that they remember you......).

The fact of the matter is, they had already shown you that they could win in court. You figured you would do arbitration in hopes that they would not cover the expense and they called your bluff. You are not going to get a 4 - 5 month continuance regardless of what is going on. You will be lucky to get 90 days and more likely, you will get 30 days. They are probably going to win unless the arbitors accept your defenses and even there, they will simply ask Discover to calculate what you owe them without the extra charges and interest and give them a judgement for that amount. The CARD Act of 2009 (which is the law that I think you are citing in your defense) does not give a private right to action which means you should have complained to the CFPB rather than stopped paying your bill. The courts (and arbitration) are not there to enrich you because the other party broke the law.

I have now said more than I intended to because I see you as one of those people who want to cut off their nose to spite their face. You intend to go down fighting in a battle you not only cannot win but can cause others grief too.

[Harry Seaward]

5 hours ago, WhoCares1000 said:

I see you as one of those people who want to cut off their nose to spite their face.

I see this also, but it seems part of untreated grief is feeling victimized by everyone and everything. I appreciate that @WhoCares1000 said what needed to be said and I'm not making excuses for OP's rotten attitudes, but i think it's helpful for the rest of us to keep things in perspective because it explains why OP is acting like we're speaking to her in a foreign language. 

[LaneBlane]

On 11/16/2019 at 10:16 PM, Nana2709 said:

They can. These are not and admission to anything rather a chance to settle. If they're are interested they can counter offer or not. I'm fight to fight them all the way. We're going to go all the way to 3tier appeal and then when and if I lose I'll file BK. Not going to make it easy for them. 

We've seen a small number of arbitration cases where the arbitrator entered an award against the consumer for the JDB/OC's arbitration fees and costs.  I don't know what the final outcome was in these cases.  There was one case in particular, I believe it was a man handling a case for his girlfriend.  The prevailing opinion was that the arbitrator may have been annoyed by his behavior and unprofessionalism.  Not only did he lose the case for his girlfriend, she was faced with having to reimburse $10,000+ in fees and costs.   (Does anyone know if that OP appealed the ruling?)

[LaneBlane]

On 11/15/2019 at 10:37 PM, Nana2709 said:

Can you share your arbitration express with me? 

I've been through the process of selecting an arbitrator.  After being coached on these threads, I knew what to look for when choosing arbitrators who were more likely to be pro-consumer.

[Nana2709]

4 hours ago, LaneBlane said:

I've been through the process of selecting an arbitrator.  After being coached on these threads, I knew what to look for when choosing arbitrators who were more likely to be pro-consumer.

Could you please tell me what traits I should look for?

[Nana2709]

11 hours ago, WhoCares1000 said:

Because among all the other cases that they have, you would be forgotten and they might not make an effort to collect from you before you do the BK, especially if you remove your name from all property and bank accounts while you are away. If you go through with this and make their life hell in getting the arbitor's award, the first thing they will do is convert that into a judgement (and if you try to fight that, the judge is going to laugh at you once they show what you did in arbitration because the judge will know that you had your chance to defend yourself). Once they get the judgement, they will immediately do anything in their power to collect, making your life a living hell, even if you are outside of the USA. Do realize that even if they will not make any money, they can foreclose on your house if they have a lien on it, just to show you the power they have (most creditors would not do this in most cases but if you piss someone off enough that they remember you......).

The fact of the matter is, they had already shown you that they could win in court. You figured you would do arbitration in hopes that they would not cover the expense and they called your bluff. You are not going to get a 4 - 5 month continuance regardless of what is going on. You will be lucky to get 90 days and more likely, you will get 30 days. They are probably going to win unless the arbitors accept your defenses and even there, they will simply ask Discover to calculate what you owe them without the extra charges and interest and give them a judgement for that amount. The CARD Act of 2009 (which is the law that I think you are citing in your defense) does not give a private right to action which means you should have complained to the CFPB rather than stopped paying your bill. The courts (and arbitration) are not there to enrich you because the other party broke the law.

I have now said more than I intended to because I see you as one of those people who want to cut off their nose to spite their face. You intend to go down fighting in a battle you not only cannot win but can cause others grief too.

They have paid the commencement fee so next option is to select arbination. There is no other option or I'll lose by default