CFPB Releases Monthly Complaints Report on Older Consumers
Mon 12 Jun, 2017 / by McIntyre & Lemon / Client Alerts
06/12/17 – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a monthly complaint snapshot highlighting complaints from older consumers.
The snapshot provides an overview and analysis of more than 103,100 complaints submitted to the Bureau by consumers voluntarily reporting their age as 62 or older.
The snapshot shows that older consumers frequently report:
- Servicing problems with reverse mortgages;
- Difficulty recovering from financial scams;
- Confusion about deferred interest and zero interest credit card offers; and
- Fees charged for unwanted add-on products and services.
For March 2017, debt collection was the most-complained-about financial product or service by consumers identifying as over the age of 62. Of the 2,169 older consumer complaints handled in March, there were 496 complaints about debt collection. The second most-complained-about consumer product was mortgages, which accounted for 486 complaints. Credit reporting was the third most-complained-about financial product or service, accounting for 326 complaints.
Complaints related to mortgages have accounted for 26 percent of all older consumer complaints submitted to the Bureau since 2011. This is 10 percentage points higher than the proportion of mortgage complaints from consumers under 62.
California, Florida, and Texas are the three states with the most complaints from older consumers, accounting for nearly one fourth of all complaints from older consumers since the Bureau began accepting complaints in July 2011.