Released: April 30, 2018

Consumer groups stand up to threats to take complaint database dark

Groups tell acting CFPB director to react after he collects all the facts

Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), 301-718-2511

Consumer, privacy, civil rights and fair lending groups from across the nation called on temporary, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney today to retain availability of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) complaint tool after recent threats to ban public access to the public complaint database. Last week, Mulvaney announced at a banking industry conference that he’s considering removing the complaint database from public view.

In a letter today, the groups representing consumers urged the interim director to stop pre-judging the benefits of the complaint database before evaluating all formal feedback that he has requested.  Mulvaney has issued a dozen formal Requests for Information (RFIs), in an effort to dismantle the consumer bureau from within. Two of the 12 RFIs are devoted to the public complaint database.  

The CFPB’s consumer complaint database helps to empower consumers to inform and protect themselves in the marketplace. They can report a problem or review and analyze financial complaints directly from users.

“Consumers can check out a lender prior to making a financial commitment to be sure that the business is not making a habit of cheating or deceiving its customers,” says Ruth Susswein, Consumer Action’s deputy director national priorities. “This public database is one of the key tools the Consumer Bureau has developed to help consumers protect themselves.”

The public complaint database serves to hold businesses accountable. Even companies privately admit that the consumer complaint database has driven them to improve customer service and create better outcomes for consumers and companies.

To view the letter please download below.

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Through multilingual consumer education materials, community outreach and issue-focused advocacy, Consumer Action empowers underrepresented consumers nationwide to assert their rights in the marketplace and financially prosper.

 

Downloads

Consumer groups stand up to threats to take complaint database dark   (Complaint-DB-Lttr-to-Mulvaney.pdf)