CFPB Complaints State Fact Sheets: The CFPB Helps Consumers Nationwide

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ArticleOct 3, 2023 Oct 3, 2023

CFPB Complaints State Fact Sheets: The CFPB Helps Consumers Nationwide

The CFPB has stood up for everyday consumers and fought against unfair treatment across the United States, addressing consumer complaints nationwide.

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Part of a Series

Consumers’ Top Watchdog: The CFPB’s Vital Role Amid Legal Challenges

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Consumers’ Top Watchdog: The CFPB’s Vital Role Amid Legal Challenges

Photo shows Elizabeth Warren backlit in a room with wood paneling — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) listens as then-Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., November 2013. (Getty/Win McNamee)

Since opening its doors 12 years ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been a formidable advocate for everyday Americans, holding financial institutions accountable for predatory practices and returning $17.5 billion to wronged customers across the 50 states.

A note on the CFPB’s complaint data

The information in these fact sheets is drawn from the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database. Individuals submit complaints about challenges they are facing on financial transactions, and the CFPB works on their behalf to contact financial institutions and businesses to get answers. In addition, the CFPB uses the database to better understand trends and potential harm to consumers, supervise companies, enforce federal consumer financial laws, and write better rules and regulations. Ninety-eight percent of complaints sent to companies by the CFPB receive timely responses.

All complaint data used in these fact sheets represent the total number of complaints over the period from December 1, 2011, to August 29, 2023. The data were last accessed in September 2023.

By the numbers: CFPB complaints nationally

9.69

Number of complaints received per 1,000 people

4,006,880

Total number of complaints that the CFPB took action on

What kinds of complaints do Americans seek help with?

Consumers select from a menu specifying both a product and an issue when filing complaints. The following are the top categories of complaints, and examples of issues associated with those complaints, on which Americans nationwide request help:

Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: 2,156,560

complaints

Examples of issues could include incorrect credit reporting about inquiries or payments, information errors on credit reports, credit report privacy concerns, predatory fees by credit repair services, and more.

Debt collection: 502,495 complaints

Products could include medical, auto, credit card, student loan, and mortgage debt.
Examples of issues could include attempts to collect debt not owed, debt that was paid off, debt disputes due to identity fraud, and more.

Mortgage: 382,884 complaints

Products could include home mortgages, Federal Housing Administration and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs mortgages, home equity loans, and reverse mortgages.
Examples of issues could include payment process problems with autopay, escrow, taxes, and insurance; struggling to pay mortgages and foreclosures; and unfair fees and applications.

Credit card or prepaid card: 205,085 complaints

Examples of products and issues could include credit cards, store cards, government benefit cards and others being opened or closed without permission, transaction errors, declined card usage, unfair fees, or application denials.

Checking or savings account: 179,778 complaints

Complaints could include checking accounts and other banking products and services, including savings accounts and certificates of deposits.
Examples of issues include fees, privacy concerns, accounts opened without permission, fraudulent transactions, and other considerations around managing an account related to deposits, withdrawals, ATM cards, and more.

Top 4 issues on which Americans have sought help across all financial products

Incorrect information on the consumer’s credit report: 1,035,490
Problem with a credit reporting company’s investigation into an existing problem: 587,145
Improper use of the consumer’s report: 512,388
Attempts to collect debt not owed: 179,832

The CFPB’s impact state by state

These fact sheets provide information on the CFPB’s complaint data at the state level:

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Authors

Crystal Weise

Former Research Associate

Lilith Fellowes-Granda

Associate Director, Financial Regulation

David Correa

Research Assistant

Team

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Explore The Series

Consumers’ Top Watchdog: The CFPB’s Vital Role Amid Legal Challenges

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) protects consumers, holds financial institutions accountable for predatory practices, and has returned $17.5 billion since 2011 to wronged consumers across all 50 states. However, recent legal challenges have threatened the agency’s autonomy, potentially spreading uncertainty and harm far beyond the agency. This series explores the ways the CFPB helps and advocates for consumers, as well as the potential implications of CFPB v. Community Financial Services Association of America, in which the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling could undermine the agency’s independent funding structure and, by extension, its capacity to protect everyday consumers.

CFPB v. CFSA: How the Supreme Court Could Harm Consumers and Financial Markets

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CFPB Complaints State Fact Sheets: The CFPB Helps Consumers Nationwide