PROVIDENCE – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will stop publishing written narratives submitted by consumers as part of its public complaint database, the agency announced Aug. 14.
The CFPB has accepted consumer complaints about financial companies since 2011. Companies are given 15 days to respond before complaint information is made public, including the product involved, type of issue and whether the consumer received relief.
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Since 2015, consumers also have been able to have a written explanation of their complaint, known as a narrative, published in the database.
The CFPB has published more than 17 million consumer complaints since December 2011.
The Public Interest Research Group criticized the decision, saying the narratives provide consumers with information about problems reported by other customers.
“Americans deserve user-friendly, searchable access to details about these issues, so they can make educated purchasing decisions,” said Mike Litt, consumer campaign director for the research group.
The group said nearly 6 million consumers who filed complaints with the CFPB have received some form of relief, including refunds or corrections to credit reports.
The group said it hopes the change does not lead to the removal of other complaint information from public view.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
