Prepaid Complaints Remain Low in Latest CFPB Monthly Snapshot
Prepaid-related complaints to the CFPB dropped 13 percent in the agency’s latest consumer complaint report. During the three-month period from November 2016 through January 2017, there was a monthly average of 206 prepaid-related complaints to the bureau, down from 237 per month during the same period a year earlier. In January, the CFPB received 233 complaints about prepaid products, a 15 percent uptick from 204 in December, and slightly above the monthly average of 212 prepaid-related complaints since the agency began tracking prepaid complaints in July 2014. Prepaid continues to comprise a small fraction of overall consumer complaints to the CFPB, accounting for just 6,833 of the more than 1.1 million complaints the agency has received from consumers since its founding in 2011.
Student loan-related complaints saw the greatest increase of any product type in January 2017, skyrocketing to 5,389, a 537 percent surge over December 2016. The spike in complaints came around the time the CFPB took a major enforcement action against student loan servicer Navient, the report noted.
The latest monthly complaint snapshot highlighted consumer complaints about credit reporting. As of Feb. 1, 2017, the CFPB had handled approximately 185,700 complaints about credit reporting, fourth-most among all types of complaints received by the agency. Complaints indicate that consumers continue to experience difficulties when submitting disputes to credit reporting companies, the CFPB said. Consumers also complained often about inaccurate information on their credit reports, including incorrect or unrecognized names and addresses. Confusion about credit scoring, including the variety of scores and scoring factors that accompany credit score information were also mentioned. The CFPB announced on Feb. 16 that it’s collecting information about using alternative data to help thin- or no-file consumers build credit scores.
Related stories:
- CFPB: Prepaid Complaints Down Sharply in Final Quarter of 2016
- TCF Bank Faces CFPB Lawsuit for Allegedly ‘Tricking’ Consumers into Overdraft Service
- CFPB Keeps Focus on Disclosures, Deceptive Marketing with Latest Enforcement
