AGs Urge CFPB to Keep Consumer Complaint Database Open to the Public

On June 4, a group of 14 Democratic Attorneys General submitted a letter to the CFPB urging the agency to maintain public access to the consumer complaint database.  The letter is a response to the CFPB’s request for feedback on its complaint reporting and publication practices; comments were due on June 4.

The CFPB’s consumer complaint database has been publically accessible since June 2012.  The complaints posted in the database meet the CFPB’s criteria for a valid complaint but have not yet been verified by the CFPB as valid allegations.  The CFPB described the two-prong purpose of the database: “to provide timely understandable information and to improve the functioning of the market, in line with the Bureau’s objectives.”

On March 6, the CFPB published a Request for Information “regarding potential changes . . . to the Bureau’s public reporting practices of consumer complaint information.”  This request has elicited feedback on potentially closing public access to the database.

The AGs urge the CFPB to maintain public access to the database primarily to facilitate their offices’ use of the information contained in the database, as well as to provide broader benefits to the public.

The letter is accessible here.