What We Know

The CFPB issued its monthly report on consumer complaints, providing a high-level snapshot of recent trends in consumer complaints. The Report summarizes the volume of complaints by product category, company, and state. Additionally, the report’s monthly product spotlight highlights credit reporting which was last featured as a monthly spotlight in the August 2015 CFPB Consumer Trends Report. In its press release, the CFPB confirmed that consumer reporting agencies, including specialty consumer reporting agencies, are a “major focus” for the CFPB. Here are the highlights of this month’s report:

Complaint Volume by Product

• Three products yielding the highest complaint volume (based on a three-month average) are debt collection, mortgage and credit reporting;
• A trend worth noting is that the number of debt collection complaints remains almost flat;
• For the three month period, student loans indicated the highest increase in change – 48% when compared to 2015;
• On a monthly basis, debt collection, mortgage and credit reporting complaints were all down in April compared to March;

Highlighted Product: Credit Reporting

• The CFPB notes that, as was the case last August, the overwhelming most common credit reporting complaint in July was incorrect information on credit reports (77% of all credit reporting complaints);
• The CFPB report indicates that these complaints frequently involved accounts in collection for which the consumer complained were not accurately reflecting the status of the collection;
• The CFPB report notes that consumers are reporting difficulties with disputing inaccuracies with their credit report. A lot of these complaints center on issues with customer service.
• The report notes that the majority of the complaints the CFPB receives are directed at the three major consumer reporting rather than the furnisher of information; and
• The Report also notes that the Bureau is receiving complaints against specialty consumer reporting agencies and highlighted complaints involving rental, background and employment screening complaints. The Report highlights that consumers commonly complain that erroneous information reported by specialty consumer reporting agencies involve identity theft.