With the ink still wet on a new regulation to protect the little guy or gal against big financial predators, congressional Republicans are already moving to get rid of it.

On July 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to prohibit banks, credit card companies, and other lenders that break the law from stripping customers of the right to hold them accountable in class action lawsuits.

The regulation is in response to the “ripoff clauses” that financial firms often bury in the fine print of contracts, forcing consumers to seek redress for misconduct on their own through secret arbitration proceedings. Most people only learn about these clauses when they become the victim of illegal financial behavior.

Not surprisingly, very few people who get ripped off by fraudsters even bother spending their time and energy on arbitration. According to the CFPB, only 75 consumers with claims under $1,000 pursued arbitration during the three-year period 2010-2012. We’ll never know how many other wronged consumers just dropped their complaints, allowing financial criminals to keep billions in stolen money.

A wide array of public interest organizations took about five minutes to celebrate the new regulation before bracing for the Republican blowback. They included racial justice, consumer rights, Wall Street reform, and labor groups, as well as a coalition representing military service members.