What are consumers complaining about now? Credit Reports

Credit reporting agencies are getting in the way of consumers: According to its annual report, 75% of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for 2022 were about credit or consumer reporting.

The average monthly volume of complaints about credit and consumer reports nearly doubled in the past two years. It was 48,300 complaints per months in 2022, compared to 24,500 complaints in 2020 and 2021. CFPB data show that credit reporting was the reason for approximately 99% of these complaints.

According to the CFPB, incorrect information was the most frequent issue that consumers faced (38%)

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010), the CFPB is responsible for collecting consumer complaints. The CFPB analyzes and investigates these complaints and then sends them to the companies for their review and response. It sent over 820,000 of nearly 1.3million complaints to 3200 companies in 2022. The report revealed that 31% of complaints were not worthy of being addressed.

According to the CFPB, around 978,900 consumer complaints were filed about credit reporting or consumer reporting in 2022. 89% of these complaints were about Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Consumers complained about inaccurate credit information. They said that there was often negative information and accounts that didn’t belong to them. Credit inquiries they didn’t recognize were also common. The CFPB stated that incorrect credit information can cause problems for consumers looking to rent housing. It was also difficult for consumers to lift a credit freeze.

Consumers also found incorrect information in their reports (35%), and issues with companies’ investigations into existing problems (25%).

The CFPB witnessed an increase in complaints volume for financial products and services between 2021 and 2022. These were the most notable increases between 2021 and 2022:

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  Credit Repair: +94%
  

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  Student Loans: +60%
  

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  Consumer reporting or credit: +38%
  

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  Credit Cards: +34%
  

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  Personal Loan: +31%
  

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  Title Loan: +31%
  

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  Savings or checking accounts: +30%
  

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  Payday Loan: +26%
  

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  Vehicle lease or loan: +16%
  

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  Money transfer, service or virtual currency: +4%
  

In 2022, only three areas were subject to more complaints than in 2021.

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  Prepaid Cards: -13%
  

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  Mortgages: -9%
  

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  Debt collection – -5%
  

The CFPB specifically addressed grievances regarding checking and saving accounts, student loans, and money service fraud and scams.

Savings and checking accounts: More consumers reported problems managing their accounts, such as account closures and fraudulent activity, and customer service issues.

Student loan complaints rose. The rise in student loan complaints between 2021 and 2022 was due to problems with lenders or servicers, particularly confusion around forgiveness and repayment pause extensions. The vast majority of student loans are made from federal student loans. Since March 2020, payments on these loans have been stopped. Last August, President Joe Biden declared student loan forgiveness. The fate of those loans is now up to the Supreme Court.

Scam complaints and money service fraud increased. Consumers reported receiving phishing and smishing calls (text message and phone scams) that tricked them into paying money. Scammers were also reported by those who used virtual currency.