The CFPB has issued its Consumer Response Annual Report that provides an analysis of the approximately 320,200 complaints received by the CFPB between January 1 and December 31, 2017.  (In 2016, the CFPB received approximately 291,400 complaints.)

The report provides data on the most common types of complaints for each product and the handling of complaints.  … Continue Reading

The CFPB has apparently decided to put its monthly complaint reports on hold.

The CFPB’s last monthly complaint report was its October 2017 report, a “special edition” report that provided data on servicemember complaints on a nationwide and state-by-state basis.  (This “special edition” report, like other CFPB “special edition” monthly complaint reports, departed from the format of the CFPB’s standard monthly reports. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a request for information that seeks comment on potential changes to the CFPB’s practices for the public reporting of consumer complaint information.  Comments on the RFI must be received by June 4, 2018.

In the RFI, the CFPB seeks feedback on all aspects of its consumer complaint reporting and publication practices, including the following:

  • Specific, statutorily-permissible suggestions regarding the frequency of the CFPB’s reporting on consumer complaints  (We note that the CFPB has not published a complaint report since Mick Mulvaney was appointed Acting Director by President Trump.)
Continue Reading

The CFPB’s October 2017 complaint report, which the CFPB calls a “special edition” monthly complaint report, departs from the format of the CFPB’s standard monthly reports.  (The CFPB’s June and July 2017 complaint reports were also called a “special edition.”)  Instead of analyzing monthly complaint trends and highlighting complaints received about a particular product and from consumers in a particular state and city, the new report provides data on servicemember complaints on a nationwide and state-by-state basis. … Continue Reading

The CFPB’s June 2017 complaint report could serve as a call to arms to state attorneys general and regulators.  Unlike the CFPB’s prior monthly complaint  reports, the June 2017 report does not highlight complaints about one product  or complaints from consumers from one state.  Instead, the new report, which the CFPB calls a “special edition,” provides expanded data and analysis on a state-by-state basis of all complaints received by the CFPB as of April 1, 2017.  … Continue Reading

At the Comply2017 conference held earlier this week in New York City, Scott Steckel, a member of the CFPB’s Office of Consumer Response, gave a presentation in which he detailed the CFPB’s complaint process and how the CFPB shares complaint data through its complaint database.

Also at the conference, Ballard Spahr attorney James Kim moderated a panel discussion focused on innovation in which the panelists were Paul Reymann, Director for Consumer Compliance Policy at the OCC, and Duane Pozza, Assistant Director, Division of Financial Practices, at the FTC. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its December 2016 complaint report which highlights complaints about debt collection.  The report also highlights complaints from consumers in Arizona and the Phoenix metro area.

General findings include the following:

  • As of December 1, 2016, the CFPB handled approximately 1,058,100 complaints nationally, including approximately 23,100 complaints in November 2016.
Continue Reading

The CFPB’s Ombudsman’s Office has issued its fifth annual report covering the Office’s activities during fiscal year 2016 (October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016).  The role of the Ombudsman’s Office is to assist in the resolution of individual and systemic issues that a depository entity, non-depository entity, or consumer has with the CFPB.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has taken another step towards implementing its proposal to add a survey to its current complaint intake form that a consumer could choose to complete to provide feedback on the company’s response to his or her complaint.

The proposal would allow a consumer to opt-in and provide this feedback publicly, much the way he or she can with the complaint narrative. … Continue Reading