Experian, Equifax, BofA Top Chart For CFPB Gripes

The CFPB is also trying to expand its complaint handling system to include other products and services.

Mortgages continue to be the most griped-about issue to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and Illinoisans have submitted thousands of complaints to the consumer watchdog agency, a new report by the Illinois PIRG Education Fund shows.

Following Antonakes’ announcement CFPB Director Richard Cordray issued an email to employees saying Antonakes’ “contributions to this agency have been extensive in his dual roles as deputy director and SEFL associate director, and I know many of you share my appreciation for all his work”. The consumer protection body, which regulates consumer lending, has published annual complaint reports since its inception four years ago. These are categorized in the database as “loan modification, collection, foreclosure”, and they make up 55 percent of mortgage complaints. Of the 23,400 complaints handled, more than 7,400 of them were about debt collection.

While company-level information should be considered in the context of company size, the top three companies that received the most complaints from CFPB for February through April 2015 were Equifax, Experian, and Bank of America. Each monthly report will spotlight a particular product and geographic location, according to the CFPB.

More than 14,700 consumers who had mortgage problems got either monetary or non-monetary relief via CFPB’s complaint process, according to the report.

Complaints on loans increased the most year-over-year, from about 660 last year at this time to an average of about 1,020 complaints per month. During the same period, complaints about bank accounts fell by 8 percent.

Recently the CFPB began publishing consumer narratives, which allow consumers to report details about their problems with specific consumer financial service companies.