CFPB Releases Thousands Of Consumer Complaints

This week marks the 5th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency committed to protecting consumers from abusive financial products and practices. Over the past four years, we have seen the CFPB return over $10 billion to more than 17 million consumers tricked by deceptive financial practices, consider new regulations on payday lenders and prepaid cards, and successfully sue for-profit colleges for abusive lending practices.

The CFPB’s successes are thanks, in large part, to real stories shared by residents across the country. CFPB receives thousands of complaints every week about issues with banks, debt collection, paydays loans, student loans, prepaid cards, and many other areas. Take, for instance, Christine, a Chicago resident who shared her experience with payday loans in a recent video created by the Woodstock Institute:

The CFPB has been receiving complaints on issues such as those faced by Christine for years. Just recently, the CFPB made its Consumer Complaint Database public. To date, it has 421,413 complaints. For the first time, consumers’ concerns with financial products and services are easily accessible to the public. You can now read consumer narratives and analyze consumer complaint data from around the country.

Here are just a few short examples of consumer narratives from the 558 complaints filed in Illinois:

Penn Credit Collection called my job requesting payment on a bill I do not even owe. The company keeps changing their number and calls my job and cell phone constantly. I do not owe the debt they are trying to collect.

I received a call from a company, XXXX XXXX, stating that I owed a payday loan that I never took. I did look into one years ago, but the fees were outrageous and I didn’t finalize anything. They stated that it was my responsibilty to prove I didn’t take it and that the fact that they had my information was enough for them to prove I did. All I have is a phone number for them, XXXX and after searching online, I found that they are doing this to alot of consumers.

Used XXXX to load money on my prepaid PayPower XXXX card but it was not added to my account. Have a confirmation receipt from XXXX, have the actual hard copy of the receipt that I have emailed XXXX times to the company and called close to a dozen times, spoke with several supervisors but yet over and over again they pass the buck and can not offer a resolution. It has been almost a month and still they have not credited my money.

How does this help consumers?

Consumers can use this as a source when researching financial products and services. You can view complaints filed against different companies. Consumers can also see what issues others are having, and can learn what practices are a red flag.

Also, by making the complaints public, it may encourage others to come forward and report their concerns. The ability to record a complaint is an important tool for consumers, with 98% of people getting timely responses from companies when they file a complaint with the CFPB.

How does this help advocates?

Advocates can download and analyze the data to support local and state campaigns to strengthen consumer protections. For a more nuanced picture of what’s happening in communities, advocates can also access consumer narratives by zip code or by state. With a better understanding the challenges facing residents and the companies most at fault, this data can help us create real policy solutions in Illinois.

Take a look at CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database, and spread the word to consumers and advocates about this great tool!