CFPB Now Gives Consumers Opportunity to Publicly Share Complaint Narratives

Handling consumer complaints is an integral part of the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). A policy the Bureau finalized on Thursday will allow consumers to share their complaints publicly about financial institutions, according to an announcement from the CFPB.

Under the new policy, consumers have the option to share their complaint narratives in the CFPB's public-facing Consumer Complaint Database when they submit a complaint to the Bureau.

"Consumer narratives shed light on the full consumer perspective behind a complaint," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. "Narratives humanize the problems consumers face in the marketplace. Today’s policy will serve to empower consumers by helping them make informed decisions and helping track trends in the consumer financial market."

When the CFPB opened in July 2011, it began receiving consumer complaints about credit cards and eventually expanded to include other aspects of financing such as mortgages, bank accounts, consumer loans, debt collection, and money transfers. The number of complaints received nearly doubled from 2012 (91,000) to 2013 (163,700). The Bureau reported having received approximately 558,000 complaints as of March 1, 2015, in less than four years of existence. Mortgages and debt collections have been the most frequent topics of complaints.

The CFPB launched its Consumer Complaint Database in June 2012. The database includes basic individual-level information about the complaints such as the date the complaint was submitted, the issue, the company being complained about, the type of product, and how the company handled the complaint. The consumer who submitted the complaint remains anonymous, though their ZIP code is included.

A policy allowing consumers to publicly share their stories when submitting complaints to the CFPB was first proposed by the Bureau in July 2014. After months of receiving comments from consumer groups, trade associations, companies, and individuals, the CFPB finalized its consumer narrative policy on Thursday.

According to the CFPB, the utility of the database will be greatly enhanced by adding the option for consumers to share their narratives publicly. The narratives "provide context to complaints, spotlight specific trends, and help consumers make informed decisions" and "may encourage companies to improve the overall quality of their products and services, and more vigorously compete over good customer service," according to the CFPB.

The policy finalized by the Bureau on Thursday lays out specific procedures and safeguards put in place for publishing narratives in the database, according to the CFPB. When consumers submit a complaint they state who they are, who the complaint is against, and when the action in question occurred. They can also describe what happened using a text box or by attaching documents. The complaint is then forwarded to the company by the CFBP and the consumer can track its progress by using a tracking number. Starting Thursday, consumers can choose to "opt in" to publicly share their narrative.

The consumer must provide informed consent to give the Bureau permission to publish the narrative, and personal information will be removed from the complaints. The narratives must meet certain requirements to be published; for example, the complaint must be submitted through the CFPB website, it cannot be a duplicate complaint, and the consumer must have a confirmed relationship with the financial institution he or she filed the complaint about. The consumer can decide to opt out at any time and withdraw consent to publish their narrative.

Companies will have the opportunity to publicly respond to the complaints against them by choosing from a list of structured response options.