From banks to car dealers, how companies use NDAs to keep unhappy customers quiet

IN DEPTH Silent treatment Consumers snared in disputes are increasingly being pressed to sign non-disclosure agreements, as companies from banks to retailers demand secrecy in exchange for compensation ERICA ALINI PERSONAL ECONOMICS REPORTER MARIYA POSTELNYAK CONSUMER AFFAIRS REPORTER THE GLOBE AND MAIL PUBLISHED MAY 1, 2026 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY THE GLOBE AND MAIL/SOURCE: ISTOCKPHOTO/GETTY COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Charlene Hatcher could have taken the money. But then, she wouldn’t have been able to talk about what happened. Scammers had called her one day in mid-September last year, …