OT - ebay, opting out of arbitration restriction

I just got an email advisory from eBay stating that they have a new policy that requires an eBay customer with an issue to agree to adjudication by remedial arbitration as an individual only, and forbids an individual to sue as part of a class action. This policy can be circumvented, they say, by opting out. If no opt-out within, I think, 30 days, you will be automatically considered as having agreed to their new no-class-action policy. If you dig enough through the advisory's legalese, you can get to a link to an opt-out form which can be filled out and mailed to a Litigation Dept. in Utah. I already have a hate on about eBay, and I am opposed to having the right to sue on a class action basis taken away, or for that matter giving up any right I presently have, so I filled out the form and sent it off.

EBay's email advisory, by the way, came in a form that sent it, for the first time, straight to my Junk mailbox, where I discovered it more or less by accident.

-Marty-

Please be advised that this User Agreement contains provisions that govern how claims you and we have against each other are resolved (see "Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability" and "Legal Disputes" provisions below). It also contains an Agreement to Arbitrate which will, with limited exception, require you to submit claims you have against us or our agents to binding and final arbitration, unless you opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate (see Legal Disputes, Section B ("Agreement to Arbitrate")). If you do not opt out: (1) you will only be permitted to pursue claims against us or our agents on an individual basis, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative action or proceeding and (2) you will only be permitted to seek relief (including monetary, injunctive, and declaratory relief) on an individual basis.

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hmmmmm........

eBay Opt-Out Notice

And it can only be mailed?

mach2 said:

And it can only be mailed?

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I doubt that, but that is the only alternative for submission that is mentioned on the opt-out form.

-Marty-

Probably ought to get a confirmation of delivery when you mail it.

Credit cards are doing this too.

medsar said:

Credit cards are doing this too.

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Yeah, I just got a letter from AmEx. But unlike the eBay thing, there was no provision for an opt-out. They just went ahead and did it unilaterally.

-Marty-

My understanding is that they can't actually do this, but if they post some user agreement legalese, then people won't try it. Might be off-base, but my source is my old man, who is a master loophole exploiter, so it's probably at least somewhat legit.