CFPB Releases 2016 Consumer Response Annual Report

04/11/17 — The CFPB has released its 2016 annual report on consumer experiences and complaints.

Since beginning to accept consumer complaints more than five years ago, the CFPB has handled approximately 1,136,000 complaints. The insights gained from the questions consumers ask and the complaints they submit help the Bureau to better understand the problems consumers experience in the financial marketplace.

The CFPB recently published their Consumer Response Annual Report, which provides an overview of complaints received in 2016. Some of the key takeaways from the report include:

• The CFPB handled 291,400 consumer complaints in 2016. This is a 7 percent increase over complaints handled in 2015.
• Debt collection, credit reporting and mortgages were the top three most-complained-about consumer financial products and services, collectively representing about 67 percent of complaints submitted in 2016.
• Financial companies provide timely responses to consumer complaints. 97 percent of complaints sent to companies get timely responses.

Every month, the CFPB handles more than 20,000 complaints through their website, by telephone at their U.S.-based contact centers, and by mail, fax, and referral.

When the CFPB receives a complaint from a consumer, the Bureau sends the complaint to the company and works to get the consumer a response. The Bureau also gives companies the opportunity to respond publicly to complaints appearing in the database.

CFPB Blog, Annual Report.