CFPB Report States Most Frequent Consumer Debt Collection Complaints Last Year Were Attempts to Collect Debts That Were Not Owed

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report stated that in 2023, the most frequent debt collection complaints filed with the bureau were attempts to collect debts that weren’t actually owed. Those complaints amounted to 53 percent of the debt collection complaints filed last year, and many were similar to those filed in 2022.

“Complaints about attempts to collect a debt that the consumer reports is not owed has been the predominant issue selected by consumers since the CFPB began accepting debt collection complaints in 2013,” said the CFPB. The agency said that debt collectors who pursue consumers for wrong amounts could be violating the FDCPA and the CFPB would take action.

The CFPB said that the “financialization” of several consumer markets could be contributing to the frequency of complaints. Financial products and services have been increasingly introduced and offered in consumer markets, notably in the rental-housing and medical markets, the latter of which the CFPB focused much of its report on.

The second-most common issue raised by consumers was that they didn’t receive written notification of debt collection, particularly concerning medical debt. 69 percent of consumers complaining about written notification said they did not receive enough information to verify the debt.

Consumers filed complaints regarding the collection of allegedly owed debts that had already been paid through financial assistance programs, as well as complaints navigating between insurance providers, debt collectors, and healthcare providers that failed to communicate with each other.

The CFPB said it received 109,000 debt collection complaints, and 63 percent were sent for review and response, 28 percent were sent to regulatory agencies, and 9 percent the bureau reported were not actionable.