Submit a complaint | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2024)

See how the complaint process works

Watch this short video to find out what to include in your complaint and what will happen after you submit.

Submit a complaint | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (1)

Find answers before you start a complaint

We currently accept complaints about:

  • Checking and savings accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Credit reports and other personal consumer reports
  • Debt collection
  • Debt and credit management
  • Money transfers, virtual currency, and money services
  • Mortgages
  • Payday loans
  • Personal loans like installment, advance, and title loans
  • Prepaid cards
  • Student loans
  • Vehicle loans or leases

If you don't see the product or service you want to complain about listed, check out usa.gov to find other places to submit complaints. It includes ways to submit complaints about phone, internet, and cable companies as well as companies that sell other products and services and more.

If you think you’ve been a victim of scam, there are a few important steps you should take right away.

Have you tried reaching out to the company? Companies can usually answer questions unique to your situation and more specific to the products and services they offer.

Or, you can search for answers to consumers’ most frequently asked financial questions.

You generally can’t submit a second complaint about the same problem, so include this information to help the company respond to your complaint.

Key facts in your own words

  • Be clear and concise about the problem you’re having
  • Include only the most important dates, amounts, and communications you’ve had with the company

Documents

  • Attach documents that support the facts like account statements and communications with the company. Limit: 50 pages
  • If you’re submitting for someone else, note that companies generally require signed, written authorization provided directly by their customer before responding to someone other than their customer. If you have written authorization, consider attaching it.

Company you're complaining about

  • Select a company from the list in the form. We will forward your complaint directly to this company and ask for a response.
  • If you don’t see the company, provide complete contact information for the company. If we can’t send the complaint to that company, we’ll let you know what you can do next.

Your contact information

  • You will need to provide your name, email, and phone number to create your secure account.
  • You will need to provide your address. Without this, the company won't be able to respond to your complaint.
  • If you are submitting for someone else, you must disclose your relationship to the consumer and that you are submitting a complaint on their behalf.

Your complaint goes through several steps that help you get a response and help us identify problems in the marketplace.

1. Complaint submitted

You submit a complaint, or another government agency forwards your complaint to us. You will receive email updates and can check the status of your complaint.

2. Route

We'll send your complaint directly to the company so it can review the issues in your complaint. If we find that another government agency would be better able to assist, we will send your complaint to them and let you know.

3. Company response

The company will communicate with you as needed and respond to the issues in your complaint. Companies generally respond in 15 days. In some cases, the company will let you know their response is in progress and provide a final response in 60 days.

4. Complaint published

We publish information about your complaint (without information that directly identifies you) in our public Consumer Complaint Database. With your consent we also publish your description of what happened, after taking steps to remove personal information. Learn more about how we share complaint data.

5. Consumer review

We will let you know when the company responds. You’ll be able to review the company’s response and will have 60 days to provide feedback about the company's response.

If you suspect a scam, there are a few important steps you should take right away.

  1. Contact your local police or sheriff’s office to report the scam.
  2. Contact your state attorney general. Visit the National Association of Attorneys General website for the contact information of each state attorney general.
  3. If the victim is an older person or a person with a disability, contact your local adult protective services agency. You can find your state or local agency that receives and investigates reports of suspected elder financial exploitation by using the online Eldercare Locator or calling (800) 677-1116.
  4. If you or someone you care about is the victim of a fraud, scam or financial exploitation, you can report the fraud or scam to the Federal Trade Commission.

Because all scams are different, you might have to reach out to a number of other local, state, and federal agencies depending on your situation.

Ready to begin?

Submitting online usually takes less than 10 minutes. Include everything you need to because you generally can’t submit a second complaint about the same problem.

Start a new complaint

  • Learn more about how we share your complaint data
  • If you've already submitted a complaint, you can check the status of your complaint.

Witness a violation while working for a company?

You can report a tip to us, through a separate process if you are a current or former employee of a company that has violated federal consumer financial laws or if you are an industry insider who knows about such a company.

Alert us of a potential violation

Submit a complaint | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2024)

FAQs

Submit a complaint | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? ›

You can also submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

Does submitting a complaint with CFPB do anything? ›

Submit a complaint

We help consumers connect with financial companies to understand issues, fix errors, and get direct responses about problems. Tell us about your issue—we'll forward it to the company and work to get you a response, generally within 15 days.

Does filing a complaint with the FCC do anything? ›

The FCC cannot resolve all individual complaints, but we can provide information about your possible next steps. The collective data we receive from complaints helps us keep a pulse on what consumers are experiencing, may lead to investigations and serves as a deterrent to the companies we regulate.

How long does it take to respond to a CFPB complaint? ›

The company will communicate with you as needed and respond to the issues in your complaint. Companies generally respond in 15 days. In some cases, the company will let you know their response is in progress and provide a final response in 60 days.

Does the CFPB expect credit reporting companies to respond to all consumer complaints? ›

By statute, a primary function of the CFPB is to collect, investigate and respond to consumer complaints. Companies receive and respond to these complaints through the Company Portal, a secure online environment that protects consumer privacy and the confidentiality of company responses.

How effective is the CFPB? ›

In 2023, the CFPB filed 29 enforcement actions and resolved through final orders 6 previously-filed lawsuits. Those orders require lawbreakers to pay approximately $3.07 billion to compensate harmed consumers and pay approximately $498 million in civil money penalties.

What does the CFPB investigate? ›

Enforcement uses investigations to gather facts and identify violations of federal consumer financial law to determine whether a public enforcement action is necessary.

What are three of the six types of complaints you can make to the FCC? ›

To file a complaint from the home page, choose the category that best describes your issue:
  • TV.
  • Phone.
  • Internet.
  • Radio.
  • Access for People with Disabilities.
  • Emergency Communications.

What happens if you get reported to the FCC? ›

FCC-Initiated Investigations

The Bureau generally opens an investigation after receiving information about a potential violation from any number of sources, and gathers the information it needs through a Letter of Inquiry, or LOI.

Can the FCC fine you? ›

Under 47 U.S.C. § 502, any person who willfully and knowingly violates a regulation of the Federal Communications Commission is subject to a maximum fine of $500 for each day on which a violation occurs.

What is the standard of unfairness in CFPB? ›

To be unfair, the act or practice must be injurious in its net effects — that is, the injury must not be outweighed by any offsetting consumer or competitive benefits that also are produced by the act or practice.

Who should you first contact with a consumer complaint? ›

California Attorney General's Office. File a complaint online at http://oag.ca.gov/. The Better Business Bureau. Go to www.bbb.org, or consult your phone directory for a local office.

How do I dispute a CFPB? ›

You also can submit a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. We will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response. You also may want to seek assistance from an attorney. Visit consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1549 and lsc.gov/what-legal-aid/find-legal-aid.

Does filing a complaint with the CFPB do anything? ›

The CFPB has handled over 2 million complaints, helping consumers connect with financial companies to get direct responses about problems with mortgages, student loans, debt collection, credit reports, and other financial products and services.

Does the CFPB have any power? ›

The CFPB supervises a range of companies to assess their compliance with federal consumer financial laws. We have supervisory authority over banks, thrifts, and credit unions with assets over $10 billion, as well as their affiliates.

What is the number one complaint category for the CFPB? ›

Table 1 lists the most common financial products in the CFPB consumer complaints database during FY2023. Credit reporting is by far the most common product category about which consumers complain, accounting for 80.5% of the complaints.

What power does the CFPB have? ›

The CFPB supervises a range of companies to assess their compliance with federal consumer financial laws. We have supervisory authority over banks, thrifts, and credit unions with assets over $10 billion, as well as their affiliates.

What actions can the CFPB take? ›

Our work includes:
  • Rooting out unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices by writing rules, supervising companies, and enforcing the law.
  • Enforcing laws that outlaw discrimination in consumer finance.
  • Taking consumer complaints.
  • Enhancing financial education.

Does filing a complaint with the FTC do anything? ›

The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by collecting reports from consumers and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights ...

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