General Mills abandons controversial legal policy to strip consumers of rights

[Newsjock]

Source: The Globe and Mail

General Mills has completely reversed itself on a controversial legal policy that saw it try to strip consumers who downloaded coupons or otherwise participated on its website from the right to sue the U.S. food giant.

The maker of Cheerios found itself facing criticism last week after The New York Times reported that the company had changed the fine-print legal terms on its website to say that users were agreeing to have any dispute with the company referred to private arbitration and that they could not sue or join a class action.

While the company denied the report that consumers who even “liked” its F?acebook page were signing away their right to later sue, it said late Saturday on its website that its policy had been “mischaracterized” but that it was changing it back.

... Saying that such clauses are commonly used by other companies, Kirstie Foster, the company’s director of external communications, says General Mills “never imagined” the legal terms would prompt the reaction they did.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/the-law-page/general-mills-abandons-controversial-legal-policy-to-strip-consumers-of-rights/article18070962/

[Sunlei]

1. That really sucks of general mills! Can they even do this legally? Why would facebook allow this?

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. I am so pleased there was such a strong reaction.

the fact that GM could not even imagine such a thing happening is telling.

as is the fact they automatically lied about the policy in the first place, despite it being publicly visible.

[MineralMan]

3. Good move, General Mills.

Times have certainly changed. Many years ago, back in the early 1970s, I bought a package of Mother's Animal Cookies. You know the ones: cookies in the shape of animals, with frosting on them. They were stale and inedible. It was the first time that had ever happened, and those cookies were my favorites when I had smoked a little of the kindly herb and got peckish.

Out came my trusty Royal Quiet Deluxe typewriter. I wrote a thoughtful letter to the Mother's Bakery headquarters in Los Angeles and told them of my disappointment in the bag of cookies I had purchased, ending with something about not being able to trust their quality in the future.

A week later, a knock on my door occurred. I opened the door, and out on the street was the Mother's Bakery truck that delivered their products to the local markets. The driver handed me a letter and gestured toward a large cardboard box on my front walk. Then he left.

I brought the box into the house and opened it. Inside were packages of every product the Mother's Bakery made. Dozens of them. The letter contained an apology from the company for my stale package and assured me that wasn't typical of their products. It invited me to enjoy the sample packages of their products in the box.

I did enjoy them. So did my friends. So did just about everyone I knew.

Nice company. Nice business practice.