Originally Posted by
Kacee
Marriott points are not cash equivalent. Marriott has now devolved to the point that they feel free to simply ignore the black and white of their published terms and conditions. What a disgustingly unethical company.
Completely agree. Sadly, companies do it simply because they can. Note that I am not a lawyer and I am just writing my opinion.
I have noticed whenever we we FT'ers analyze TOS of a company, we always interpret the wording in such a way that it favors the company. If there is even a very tiny form of ambiguity, we always interpret it in favor of the company, even if they are the ones that wrote the TOS.
There is a concept called Contra proferentem. In a case of standardized contracts or contracts where the two parties have unequal bargaining power, any ambiguity in the contract should be interpreted in favor of the party that did not write the contract.
Ultimately, however, this is difficult to do. While a person can use Marriott over breach of contract, the amount of the breach is so small in most cases ($200 at most). The cost of filing a lawsuit and getting a lawyer to navigate all of this will cost way more than the potential value.
That was why Class Action suites were a powerful weapon. Sure, the lawyers got most of the settlement money, but it still provided a disincentive to companies to break their own TOS, that they themselves have written.
Unfortunately, Class Action is no longer an option. Marriot's TOS specifically states that Class Action lawsuits are not allowed.
Either the government has to change the law or customers have to vote with their wallet. Until then, Marriott is free to disregard the TOS they've written with no consequence.