CFPB Issues Annual Consumer Complaint Report

The CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report for 2020 highlights a 54 percent increase in complaints from 2019 stemming from pandemic-related problems and changing market conditions.

The CFPB report provided Congress with analyses of approximately 542,300 complaints across multiple consumer financial products and services.  The Acting Director of the CFPB stated that the pandemic caused shockwaves that “were felt deeply in the consumer financial marketplace.”  The report includes an extended discussion of pandemic related complaints to help readers better understand how the pandemic impacted consumer’s financial lives.

The report also discusses multi-year trends relating to a large amount of complaints about the credit and consumer reporting industry.  Specifically, consumers submitted complaints relating to inaccurate information that the major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) gave to creditors.  The CFPB noted that they are going to issue a report later this year regarding complaints relating to the credit reporting agencies.