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How Wells Fargo is taking advantage of a hidden clause inside almost every customer agreement

This piece has been corrected.

This segment originally aired Jan. 30, 2016, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.

There’s a clause hidden in most of the long company contracts no one reads. And it’s tucked away for good reason: A lot of people would probably think twice about signing if they knew the clause existed.

It’s called an arbitration clause, and it protects companies from lawsuits. A group of Wells Fargo customers is learning that the hard way.

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But in February, the Supreme Court will decide if companies should be allowed to include arbitration clauses in their employee contracts.

Anyone, employees and customers alike, who signs a contract with an arbitration clause has to settle any legal dispute they might have outside of court, in a private arbitration hearing, where companies are far more likely to win.

Arbitration agreements have become so popular, it’s almost impossible to open a bank account, get a credit card, rent a car, or use Netflix, Tinder, or Groupon without signing one. Most of the time, they don’t end up mattering. But when they’re used, it can be extremely hard for customers to hold a company accountable for serious wrongdoing.

Correction: A previous version of this piece mischaracterized a case before the Supreme Court regarding arbitration. The Supreme Court will decide if companies should be allowed to include arbitration clauses in their employee contracts, not in their consumer contracts.