How to Make the US Bank Corporate Office Listen

It is easy to feel like you are David fighting against Goliath when a big financial company fails to keep their end of a promise.

This is particularly true when it’s US Bank that made the mistake in the first place. You end up having to pay for the mistake, literally and figuratively, and then try to prove the error was theirs after the fact and hopefully get your money back.

Phone calls with employees who don’t have the power to make your problems go away or solve the situation or just a waste of your time. Email complaints seemingly go nowhere, with boilerplate responses, if you even get a response. Requests to talk with someone who has any Authority at the corporate office are often ignored or take months before things move forward. Worst case, they tell you that something will be done, but it never happens.

What can you do other than feel like you were taking advantage of?

Use Arbitration to Settle Your Complaint with US Bank

Doing business with banks like US Bank can often leave you feeling very powerless and that’s quite frustrating. Knowing how large US Bank is, trying to get a hold of the right person or get a solution to your complaint can be overwhelming at best because of how many different branches and departments there are. Unfortunately you might be limited in the choices you have for companies that handle the financial services you need in which case you end up picking a company that knowingly has low customer service standards or unresponsive staff working at their headquarters.

Arbitration is a great way for you to get a satisfactory solution to your complaint without having to sue US Bank. When you request arbitration, an independent arbitrator is appointed to the case. They examine the situation and they have to be impartial. This means they look at the facts presented by yourself and by US Bank. US Bank has to do a lot of work when this happens and they typically lose control of the outcome because the arbitrator makes a binding decision which means, if the arbitrator decides in your favor, the company has to follow through.

Arbitration is Fair, Just, Reasonable, and Transparent

All arbitrations handled by the American Arbitration Association® are options which comply with the Statement of Principles of the Consumer Due Process Protocol, which means:

• The process needs to be fundamentally fair for everyone involved, yourself included, and that extends to a fair appointment of an impartial, competent, and qualified arbitrator who conducts fair hearings.
• A reasonable standard is applied to the process which means you all get access to relevant information, a good time for the hearing, a good location, and affordable cost.
• The transparency standard means that the arbitration agreements have to be clear, easy to understand, and include all the necessary information and provide you and the other party with the ability to hire representation.
• An alternative to arbitration, which takes the form of small claims court and, in some cases, mediation, has to be available.
• The process should be just and allow the arbitrator to award you the same outcome you could get in the courtroom, an award which is a legally binding decision.

Arbitration Gives You Leverage

Once you notify US Bank that you are going to pursue arbitration, they realize very quickly that they have a lot of unexpected expenses coming their way. Not only might they have to pay you what you’re asking but they might have to pay for the expenses of an arbitration process. Knowing that a lot of unexpected bills are coming their way most companies are much faster to respond to your demands assuming that they are reasonable.

If they don’t meet your demands, you can pursue a reasonable, transparent, and fair hearing without spending any extra money. Our FairShake process will help you file for arbitration. It won’t cost you anything unless you win.

Leverage Leads to Faster Settlements

The key here is leverage. Once you start the arbitration process, US Bank is now on equal footing with you and a neutral arbitrator is giving you both the same level of consideration. That takes away any advantage that US Bank had.

In order to capitalize upon this leverage you have to formally raise the issue with US Bank and resolve the complaint. At FairShake we help you do this. We send a demand letter to the US Bank corporate office to start the process of resolving your case before you file arbitration. Usually we give them a 30 day limit. However, this length of time will be whatever is dictated by your arbitration clause.

In 50% of many cases, the US Bank headquarters gives you an acceptable settlement offer during this time so your issue gets resolved within a month. But if they don’t give you a reasonable settlement, the next step is simply file the appropriate paperwork with the American Arbitration Association. FairShake will put together all the official arbitration paperwork for you and guide you through the next steps.

Do I need an attorney?

If your case heads to arbitration you might consider hiring an attorney. In legal terms, if you don’t have an attorney with you that means you are bringing your claim “pro se”. If you decide that you want to go forward without an attorney, check out some information from The American Arbitration Association’s Pro Se Case Administration Team.

There are some common complaints that fall under specific laws and for these it’s very easy for you to get high compensation because of how common they are and how clearly defined the laws are. But in other cases, those involving things like improper debt collection or robocalls, it might be better for you to have an attorney to help you maximize the value of your claim.

What is my next step?

Tell us what went wrong, and we will get the ball rolling. At FairShake, we guide you through the legal steps of working with a big bank. We only get paid if you do. With our 100% satisfaction guarantee, if you aren’t completely satisfied, you don’t owe us anything.