How we share complaint data
Each week we send thousands of consumer complaints about financial products and services to companies for response. Data from those complaints helps us understand the financial marketplace and protect consumers.
Ways we use complaint data
- We forward each complaint to the appropriate company for a response.
- We share complaint data with state and federal agencies. We also present reports to Congress.
- We analyze complaint data to help with our work to supervise companies, enforce federal consumer financial laws, and write better rules and regulations.
- We publish complaints in the Consumer Complaint Database (without information that directly identifies you).
What we publish in the Consumer Complaint Database
Types of complaint data we publish
We publish complaints after the company responds or after 15 days, whichever comes first.
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
Date received |
The date the CFPB received the complaint. For example, “05/25/2013.” |
Product |
The type of product the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Checking or savings account” or “Student loan.” |
Sub-product |
The type of sub-product the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Checking account” or “Private student loan.” |
Issue |
The issue the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Managing an account” or “Struggling to repay your loan.” |
Sub-issue |
The sub-issue the consumer identified in the complaint. For example, “Deposits and withdrawals” or “Problem lowering your monthly payments.” |
Company public response |
The company’s optional, public-facing response to a consumer’s complaint. Companies can choose to select a response from a pre-set list of options that will be posted on the public database. For example, “Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error.” |
Company |
The complaint is about this company. For example, “ABC Bank.” |
State |
The state of the mailing address provided by the consumer. |
ZIP code |
The mailing ZIP code provided by the consumer. This field may: i) include the first five digits of a ZIP code; ii) include the first three digits of a ZIP code; or iii) be blank (if ZIP codes have been submitted with non-numeric values, if there are less than 20,000 people in a given ZIP code, or if the complaint has an address outside of the United States). |
Tags |
Data that supports easier searching and sorting of complaints submitted by or on behalf of consumers. For example, complaints where the submitter reports the age of the consumer as 62 years or older are tagged “Older American.” Complaints submitted by or on behalf of a servicemember or the spouse or dependent of a servicemember are tagged “Servicemember.” Servicemember includes anyone who is active duty, National Guard, or Reservist, as well as anyone who previously served and is a veteran or retiree. |
Submitted via |
How the complaint was submitted to the CFPB. For example, “Web” or “Phone.” |
Date sent to company |
The date the CFPB sent the complaint to the company. |
Company response to consumer |
This is how the company responded. For example, “Closed with explanation.” |
Timely response? |
Whether the company gave a timely response. For example, “Yes” or “No.” |
Complaint ID |
The unique identification number for a complaint. |
We don’t publish personal information
Personal information submitted as part of a complaint, such as names, contact information, account numbers, social security numbers, and supporting documents, helps the company identify the consumer. This information is not published in the Consumer Complaint Database.
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