The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently overhauled its consumer complaints process to cut down on alleged abuse and to increase efficiency. .Changes include:Updating the CFPB’s portal manual so consumer reporting agencies have a standardized process to address complaints.Launching two-factor authentication, requiring users to verify their email address and mobile phone number when creating online accounts.Adding a notice that consumers must first take up their dispute rights with consumer reporting agencies before coming to the CFPB. Focusing resources on complaints that would generate a significant response. Informing consumers about how to respond to errors on their credit reports.Building application programming interfaces to share complaint information with companies and as an address validation tool.CFPB credit reporting complaint volume has significantly increased in recent years, to more than 5 million last year from 150,000 in 2019. The bureau attributed the rise to credit repair organizations and credit clinics misusing the bureau’s complaint process as a business tool; social media influencers with a lack of expertise calling on followers to submit complaints; adopting artificial intelligence tools that can act as an individual’s agent; and the rise of new businesses that look to improve credit scores by disputing accurate consumer report information. According to the CFPB, national credit reporting agencies have not been uniformly reporting how they respond to the rising number of consumer complaints, making it more challenging to rely on consumer complaint portal data as a dependable sign of market conditions or consumer experiences. “The consumer complaint portal has long been plagued by issues that severely limit its effectiveness in addressing consumers’ complaints and practical utility of its information,” according to the bureau.
