What the CFPB Does
The CFPB:
- Accepts consumer complaints about financial companies and forwards them to the companies
- Supervises and examines financial companies for compliance
- Takes enforcement actions (fines, consent orders) against companies with patterns of violations
- Writes rules implementing consumer financial laws (like Regulation F, which implements the FDCPA)
- Maintains a public database of complaints at consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/
How to File a Complaint
See the detailed guide: How to File a CFPB Complaint.
Short version:
- Go to consumerfinance.gov/complaint
- Select the company type (debt collector, credit reporting company, bank, etc.)
- Describe the violation specifically, with dates and FDCPA/FCRA section if known
- Submit - you get a tracking number immediately
- The company is notified and must respond within 15 days
- You can view and rate their response through your CFPB account
What the CFPB Can and Cannot Do
Can do: Forward your complaint, collect responses, aggregate complaints for enforcement pattern analysis, take enforcement actions against companies with systemic violations.
Cannot do: Act as your personal attorney, adjudicate individual disputes like a court, guarantee you recover money from a specific complaint.
To recover money as an individual: File a lawsuit under the FDCPA or FCRA. Consumer attorneys take these cases on contingency because the fee-shifting provisions mean the defendant pays attorney fees if you win.
Other Agencies to Contact
- State Attorney General: Accepts complaints about state consumer protection law violations. Often more responsive to local companies. Many states have laws stronger than FDCPA.
- FTC: Accepts complaints but focuses on pattern enforcement, not individual resolution. Still worth filing for the record.
- State Banking Department: For complaints about state-chartered banks.