Report Shows Credit Reporting Issues Dominate CFPB Consumer Complaints

Consumer reporting dominates complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to a new report.The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress, issued a report discussing the CFPB’s consumer complaint process and public database. Their review of the consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB in fiscal year 2023 revealed that the significant majority (over 80%) were related to credit reporting.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act required the CFPB to establish a consumer complaint system and to publish an annual report to Congress summarizing complaints received during the previous year. Consumer complaint information is publicly available on the CFPB’s website. The complaint database includes the submission date, information regarding the consumer financial product, the consumer’s issue with the product, and the company’s response to the consumer, among other things.

CRS’s report shows that in fiscal year 2023, credit reporting ranked as the most common product category about which consumers complained, comprising 80.5% of all complaints. That lead was followed far behind by complaints related to debt collection (5.5%), credit or prepaid cards (4.5%), checking or savings accounts (4.1%), and mortgages (1.9%).

The three most common issues reported to the CFPB related to credit reporting were incorrect information on credit reports (30.8% of complaints), improper use of credit reports (27.6%), and problems with a credit reporting agency’s investigation into a complaint (21.9%). These three types of complaints alone made up 80.3% of all complaints received by the CFPB during fiscal year 2023.

This CRS report confirms what is also apparent from increased litigation filings and the continued influx of direct consumer complaints sent to FCRA regulated businesses: consumer reporting continues to be a hotbed of activity for consumer complaints.