CFPB Highlight Mortgage Complaints in Third Monthly Complaint Report

by Barbara S. Mishkin

The CFPB has issued its September 2015 complaint report, the third in its new series of monthly complaint reports.  The new report spotlights mortgage complaints and complaints from consumers in the Denver, Colorado metro area.

General findings include the following:

• • As of September 1, 2015 the CFPB has handled 702,900 complaints nationally, including 25,732 complaints in August 2015.  For August 2015, debt collection was the most-complained-about financial product or service, representing about 29 percent of complaints submitted (approximately 7,582 of the 25,732 complaints handled in August).  Credit reporting was the second most-complained-about consumer product (approximately 5,733 complaints).  Overall, the CFPB received 972 fewer complaints in August 2015 than in July 2015.
• • Consumer loan complaints, which include pawn loans, title loans, and installment loans, showed the greatest percentage increase, increasing about 47 percent from the same time last year (June to August 2014 compared with June to August 2015).  Payday loan complaints showed the greatest percentage decrease, decreasing 12 percent from the same time last year (June to August 2014 compared with June to August 2015).  Complaints decreased from 526 complaints in 2014 to 463 complaints in 2015.
• • Nebraska and Nevada experienced the greatest complaint volume increases from the same time last year (June to August 2014 compared with June to August 2015).  The volume of complaints from Nebraska increased by 54 percent and Nevada’s complaint volume increased by 45 percent.  The next largest increase was North Carolina, where complaint volume increased by 36 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Findings regarding mortgage complaints include the following:

• • Since the CFPB began accepting consumer complaints in 2011, it has received more mortgage-related complaints than any other type of financial product.  As of September 1, 2015, the CFPB has handled approximately 192,500 mortgage-related complaints.
• • 53 percent of mortgage complaints involved problems faced by consumers who were unable to make payments, such as issues about loan foreclosures and loan modifications.
• • 30 percent of mortgage complaints problems making payments, such as problems arising when loans are transferred and payments not being applied according to the consumer’s instructions.

Findings regarding complaints from consumers in Denver include the following:

• • As of September 1, 2015, of the 11,500 complaints submitted by consumers in Colorado, 7,000 of them were from consumers in the Denver metro area.
• • Mortgages were the most-complained-about product, with mortgage-related complaints representing 27 percent of the complaints submitted by consumers in the Denver metro area.
• • Debt collection and credit reporting were, respectively,  the second and third most-complained-about financial products in the Denver metro area.

On November 17, 2015, Ballard Spahr attorneys will conduct a webinar, “Coping with Consumer Complaints and CFPB Expectations,” from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET.  The registration form is available here. 

Read additional articles at Ballard Spahr’s CFPB Monitor

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