New Research Spotlights Debt Collection Complaints and How Companies Respond

A recent report by WebRecon analyzed January 2018 complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). January saw nearly 5,000 consumer complaints to the CFPB, an increase of more than 30% compared to last January. Since 2011, the CFPB has received more than 1.1 million consumer complaints.

Many of the complaints in the first month of 2018 were for debt collection and fair credit reporting. According to a 2015 report by the CFPB, the agency levied $79 million in fines for debt collection, while the Federal Trade Commission banned 30 companies from the practice for unlawful behaviors.

As for January 2018, 815 debt collection complaints led to 194 class action lawsuits. The most common complaints were for debts the consumer did not owe, written notifications about the debt, communication tactics, and the threat of legal action. States with a high number of complaints included Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, and New York.

Concerns were raised earlier this year that interim CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney would retire the complaint database after citing a number of security breaches shortly after he took control of the Bureau.