Robert is a gainfully employed coal miner who was out of work for a period of time, and found himself relying on credit to get by. He received notice in 2010 that Citibank was suing him for $13,204.07 in credit card debt. After receiving several threatening letters from Citibank, Robert learned Citibank was in violation of state consumer protection laws. He found an attorney and filed a countersuit against Citibank for violating West Virginia law for its abusive debt collection efforts. Unbelievably, Citibank then forced Robert’s case into arbitration. This case dragged on for nearly 10 years and ultimately went all the way to West Virginia’s Supreme Court in which Robert and his wife Valerie ultimately lost their fight to escape forced arbitration – the court forced them into arbitration with Citibank.
Before this horrific ordeal, Robert and Valerie had no idea what forced arbitration was, and certainly had no idea they had given up their legal right to a fair trial in West Virginia. Robert and Valerie still don’t understand why the bank could sue them in court, but when they tried to bring a claim, they were blocked from doing so and forced into arbitration.