CFPB makes public 7,700 grievances against financial institutions

CFPB adds ultra transparency

Reading reviews before you purchase something, or use a service, can save a great deal of hassle in the long run: from finding out the company has poor customer service, to supplying products that simply do not work; other consumer’s reviews can be quite helpful in making a purchasing decision. The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) has found this out with their recently launched Consumer Complain Database.

A mere three months after the CFPB created a policy to give consumers a place to air their grievances with financial institutions, the Bureau announced it has posted more than 7,700 complaints for other users to read and utilize as a tool to protect themselves from similar situations. Customer complaints are searchable and often contain a response from the company in question, this again will give you a better idea of how a company handles customer service.

CFPB complaints are like Amazon reviews for financial institutions

Just like an Amazon review can help you avoid a faulty product, the CFPB complaints can help you avoid financial institutions with poor track records. Likewise, it can assist you in finding a financial company with little to no complaints. The CFPB accepts complaints on financial products including credit cards, mortgages, bank accounts, private student loans, vehicles and other consumer loans, credit reporting, money transfers, debt collection, and payday loans.

As more consumers become aware of this service, I suspect more and more reviews will be posted, both positive and negative. As more people post, consumers can begin to gain an even deeper insight into which companies are reliable and which companies are to be avoided.

Take it all with a grain of salt…

As with any other review platform, it should be taken with a grain of salt, however. Some consumers delight in complaining, while others are genuinely interested in helping fellow consumers from struggling through a similar situation. If you’d like to view current complaints, or submit one yourself, you can do so here.

Bottom line: use platforms such as the Consumer Complaint Database as a baseline and do your own research to form your own opinions about products and services.

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