CFPB Pulls Consumer Complaint Narratives From Public Database
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON—The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Friday said it will stop publishing consumers’ written complaint narratives and related visualizations in its public Consumer Complaint Database, saying the unverified accounts can present a one-sided picture of financial companies and may not involve violations of law.
The CFPB said publication of the narratives is discretionary, although the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Bureau to maintain a consumer complaint database.
The CFPB said narratives describe negative consumer experiences without providing companies an equivalent opportunity to respond and are not verified by the Bureau.
“Publishing such narratives in the Database provides a less-than-representative sample of one-sided experiences that cannot provide consumers with a balanced and accurate view of companies’ compliance with their legal obligations,” the CFPB said.
The action is the latest in a broader CFPB overhaul of its complaint system. In a June 24 announcement, the Bureau said it was changing procedures to standardize how credit reporting agencies address complaints, strengthen identity protections, focus resources on complaints warranting substantive responses and better align the system with statutory requirements. The CFPB has said the complaint system has been strained by extraordinary growth in submissions and raised concerns about complaints generated or encouraged by credit-repair organizations, social-media influencers and artificial intelligence.
The decision reverses a transparency policy dating to 2015, when the CFPB began publishing complaint narratives when consumers consented and after personal information was removed. U.S. PIRG at the time supported adding the narratives, arguing they would improve research, help consumers make choices and allow financial companies to identify problematic practices.
Originally reported by CU Today.