Four years working for you
On July 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will turn four years old. While our doors have only been open for a short time, our work is helping to create a financial marketplace that works for you . We’re listening to your experiences through the complaints you submit, creating new consumer protections for financial products and services , holding bad actors accountable for breaking the rules , and developing useful tools and resources to empower you to make informed financial decisions.
The CFPB was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as a direct result of the financial crisis in 2008. We were created to stand up for consumers and make sure everyone is treated fairly. To us, our work is about hearing the struggles you face in the financial marketplace and empowering you to make the best financial decisions. It’s also about rooting out bad actors or bad practices that cause harm or stand between you and your financial goals.
We hear stories like that of Ari, a servicemember, and his dad Harry who were dealing with predatory auto loans, and Venida who found an error on her credit report. They are not the only ones dealing with these problems. Their stories exemplify how you can make a difference in your financial situation.
We are here to protect consumers
Your complaints and stories play an important part in our work. As of this month, we’ve handled more than 650,000 of your complaints. When you submit your complaints and tell us your stories, it helps us spot problems and risks, and work to ensure a fair financial marketplace.
The mortgage servicing rules we enacted have brought more transparency to the home-owning process, keeping your mortgage servicers from giving you runarounds or losing your documents. For those who send money out of the country, we have created rules that make sure you know how much money will actually reach your intended recipient.
We’ve also held bad actors accountable in the marketplace, securing $10.8 billion in relief to consumers who were harmed by illegal practices. Over our four years, we have taken action against credit card companies, payday lenders, banks, mortgage companies, debt collectors, and many more.
We are your resource
Just as Venida and Harry used our resources to get help in the financial marketplace, we welcome you to do the same. We have created a number of tools and resources for you to use to help avoid financial problems, plan for the future, and reach your financial goals.
Whether you’re getting ready to make big financial decisions like Paying for College or Buying a House, or just looking for unbiased answers to financial questions about your mortgage, your credit score, or how to deal with debt collectors, we’ve got tools to help you get answers and make the best decisions for you and your family.
You have the right to fair and transparent financial products and services and we’re committed to continue working for you.
In the coming days, we’ll share more about the work we’ve done leading up to today, so stay tuned.
Updated July 21, 2015: Graphic and text updated to reflect the amount of relief to consumers who were harmed by illegal practices.
