CFPB Overhauls Complaint Portal After Credit Reporting Cases Surge 3,700%
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON— The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it is overhauling its consumer complaint portal after a surge in credit reporting complaints overwhelmed the system and exposed weaknesses that agency officials say have reduced the usefulness and reliability of complaint data.
The CFPB said credit reporting complaints climbed from more than 150,000 in 2019 to more than 5 million in 2025—a more than 3,700% increase. The agency attributed the spike to misuse by some credit repair firms, social media influencers, AI-powered dispute tools and businesses that challenge accurate information in an effort to boost consumers' credit scores.
To improve the process, the CFPB said it has worked with the nation's three largest credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—to standardize how complaints are handled and reported. The Bureau has issued a revised Company Portal Manual, implemented two-factor authentication, plans to add address validation, and is requiring greater disclosure when third parties submit complaints on behalf of consumers.
The Bureau also is aligning its complaint process more closely with the Fair Credit Reporting Act by emphasizing that consumers should first dispute inaccurate information directly with credit reporting agencies before filing a complaint with the CFPB. It is also exploring new administrative response categories that would allow companies to more quickly return complaints that do not meet statutory requirements or appear to abuse the system.
In addition, the CFPB said it is expanding consumer education on credit repair scams, developing technology such as application programming interfaces to speed complaint processing, and redefining its complaint "backlog." Going forward, only complaints awaiting action for more than 30 days will be considered part of the backlog, a change the agency said will help it better prioritize resources and respond more efficiently to legitimate consumer complaints.
Originally reported by CU Today.