MARCH 31, 2012

Consumer Response 

Annual Report 

July 21 - December 31, 2011
2 CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

Message from 

Richard Cordray

DIRECTOR OF THE CFPB

On July 21, 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) 

began consumer response operations as the country’s first federal agency specifically 

mandated to protect American consumers in the financial marketplace. This Consumer 

Response Report to Congress describes how the Bureau is doing just that.

The CFPB’s Consumer Response team started accepting credit card complaints 

from consumers last year. In December 2011, the Bureau began accepting consumer 

complaints on mortgages. This year, we have expanded to accept complaints about 

other bank products and services, private student loans, and a variety of consumer loans. 

We expect to handle consumer complaints about all products and services within our 

authority by the end of 2012. Extensive cooperation from our fellow agencies helped 

ensure that there were no gaps in complaint handling during the rollout of the Bureau’s 

complaint handling capacity.

We provide these services to consumers in 187 languages, and our contact centers 

answer calls with little-to-no wait time. We are making every effort to be accessible to 

the American public – from our website’s “Tell Your Story” feature, to our toll-free 

phone number, to our trips across the country to hear from consumers and industry 

representatives. The input we have received has been exceedingly informative and helped 

ensure we fulfill our mandate.

This report not only provides an accounting of our consumer response efforts, but also 

shows that we have been successful in helping consumers resolve disputes with financial 

services companies. We will continue to meet this challenge and to fulfill Congress’s 

vision that we stand on the side of consumers to help improve their financial lives. 

Sincerely,

Richard Cordray
CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU 3

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) began consumer 

response operations on July 21, 2011 and became the first federal agency solely focused 

on consumer financial protection. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”) created the Bureau to protect consumers 

of financial products or services and to encourage the fair and competitive operation of 

consumer financial markets. Taking in, resolving, and analyzing consumer complaints1

is an integral part of the CFPB’s work, as Congress set forth in the Dodd-Frank Act.2 

The Bureau’s Consumer Response team hears directly from consumers about the 

challenges they face in the marketplace, brings their concerns to the attention of financial 

institutions, and assists in addressing their complaints.

The Consumer Response team began taking consumer complaints about credit cards on 

July 21, 2011; it began handling mortgage complaints on December 1, 2011; and it began 

accepting complaints about bank products and services, private student loans, and other 

consumer loans on March 1, 2012.

The CFPB’s phased-in approach to taking complaints has allowed Consumer Response 

to develop strong foundations over time. Based on feedback from consumers and 

companies, as well as its own observations, the Consumer Response team identifies 

new opportunities to improve its processes and implement changes with each product 

launch. By applying the lessons learned through previous complaint function rollouts, 

the Consumer Response team has improved its intake process, enhanced communication 

with companies, and ensured the system’s ease-of-use and effectiveness for consumers. 

The CFPB aims to provide services that are trusted by consumers and companies alike 

and, by the end of 2012, expects to handle consumer complaints on all products and 

services under its authority. 

Introduction

1 Consumer complaints are submissions 

that express dissatisfaction with, or 

communicate suspicion of wrongful 

conduct by, an identifiable entity 

related to a consumer’s personal 

experience with a financial product or 

service. 

2 Dodd-Frank Act, Public Law 111-203, 

Section 1021(c)(2).

July 21, 2011 December 1, 2011 March 1, 2011 Later in 2012 2013

Credit cards Mortgages

Bank products and services, 

private student loans, and 

other consumer loans

Addressing complaints 

about non-depository 

institutions
4 CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

Consumers may contact the CFPB about products and services beyond those listed 

above. The Bureau answers these inquiries and refers consumers to other regulators or 

additional resources where appropriate. 

The CFPB also created a “Tell Your Story” feature on its website that gives consumers 

the opportunity to share their experiences – positive or negative – with consumer 

financial products and services. These submissions, like formal complaints, are reviewed 

by CFPB staff to help the Bureau understand current issues in the financial marketplace. 

In keeping with the CFPB’s statutory responsibility and its commitment to accountability, 

this report provides an overview of how Consumer Response handles complaints 

and presents an analysis of complaints received over the period from July 21 through 

December 31, 2011.3 

3 This report addresses the reporting 

requirement of Dodd-Frank, Public Law 

111-203, Section 1013(b)(3)(c). Future 

reports will cover a preceding calendar 

year.
CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU 5

The CFPB accepts complaints through its website and by telephone, mail, email, fax, 

and referral from other agencies. The CFPB’s U.S.-based contact centers handle calls 

with little-to-no wait times, providing services to consumers in 187 languages and for 

hearing- and speech-impaired consumers via a toll-free telephone number. Cutting-edge 

technology, including secure company and consumer portals, makes the process efficient 

and user-friendly for consumers and companies. For companies, the CFPB provides 

secure channels for communicating directly with dedicated staff about technical issues. 

Consumer Response screens all complaints submitted by consumers based on several 

criteria. These criteria include whether the complaint falls within the CFPB’s primary 

enforcement authority, whether the complaint is complete, or whether it is a duplicate 

of a prior submission by the same consumer. Screened complaints are sent via a secure 

web portal to the appropriate company.4 The company reviews the information, 

communicates with the consumer as needed, and determines what action to take in 

response. The company reports back to the consumer and the CFPB via the secure 

“company portal.” The Bureau then invites the consumer to review the response. 

Consumer Response prioritizes for review and investigation complaints in which the 

consumer disputes the response or where companies fail to provide a timely response.5 

Consumers can log onto the secure “consumer portal” available on the CFPB’s website 

or call the toll-free number to receive status updates, provide additional information, and 

review responses provided to the consumer by the company. 

4 If a particular complaint does not 

involve a product or market that is 

within the Bureau’s jurisdiction or one 

currently being handled by the Bureau, 

Consumer Response refers it to the 

appropriate regulator.

Complaint

Received

Review

and

Route

Company

Response

Consumer

Review

Review and

Investigation

5 The CFPB initially requested that 

companies respond to complaints 

within 10 calendar days, but increased 

the requested response time to 

15 calendar days when Consumer 

Response began handling mortgage 

complaints on December 1, 2011.

Throughout this process, Consumer Response is supported by CFPB colleagues who 

provide subject matter expertise and help monitor complaints involving certain groups.

How The CFPB Handles

Complaints

!
6 CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

HOW COMPLAINTS REACH THE CFPB

Between July 21 and December 31, 2011, the CFPB received 13,210 consumer 

complaints, including 9,307 credit card complaints and 2,326 mortgage complaints.6, 7 

Forty-four percent of all complaints were submitted through the CFPB’s website and 

14.7 percent via telephone calls. Referrals from other regulators accounted for 34.9 

percent of all complaints received. The rest were submitted by mail, email, and fax. 

The tables presented below show complaints by type, actions taken, company response, 

and consumer review of company responses.8

CONSUMERS’ CREDIT CARD COMPLAINTS

Table 1 shows the most common types of credit card complaints that the CFPB has 

received as reported by consumers. Over 69 percent of all credit card complaints fell into 

these 10 categories. 

# % 

Billing disputes 1,278 13.7%

Identity theft / Fraud / Embezzlement 1,014 10.9% 

APR or interest rate 950 10.2% 

Other 854 9.2% 

Closing / Cancelling account 478 5.1% 

Credit reporting 437 4.7% 

Credit card payment / Debt protection 383 4.1% 

Collection practices 378 4.1% 

Late fee 364 3.9% 

Other fee 334 3.6% 

CREDIT CARD COMPLAINTS IN TOP 10 TYPES 6,470 69.5% 

Table 1: Most Common Credit Card Complaints Reported by Consumers

6 This analysis excludes multiple 

complaints submitted by a given 

consumer on the same issue and 

whistleblower tips.

7 All data are current as of December 

31, 2011.

8 Percentages in tables may not sum to 

100 percent due to rounding.

Results
CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU 7

The CFPB has generally relied on the consumer’s characterization of his or her complaint 

to identify the nature of it for analytical purposes, and the consumers are generally 

correct. However, the CPFB’s experience to date suggests that consumers have different 

interpretations of what these categories mean. For example, one consumer might choose 

billing dispute to categorize a problem that another would describe as a concern with a 

provider’s setting or changing of an interest rate. To improve the reliability of these data, 

the Bureau will clarify the consumer’s options to promote more consistent categorization 

of complaints. 

CONSUMERS’ MORTGAGE COMPLAINTS

Table 2 shows the types of mortgage complaints that the CFPB has received as reported 

by consumers. 

Table 2: Types of Mortgage Complaints Reported by Consumers

# % 

Applying for the loan 

(Application, originator, mortgage broker)

 235 10.1%

Receiving a credit offer 

(Credit decision/Underwriting)

 65 2.8%

Signing the agreement

(Settlement process and costs)

 96 4.1%

Making payments 

(Loan servicing, payments, escrow accounts)

 501 21.5%

Problems when you are unable to pay 

(Loan modification, collection, foreclosure) 889 38.2%

TOTAL MORTGAGE COMPLAINTS 2,326 100.0%
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Nearly 60 percent of consumers filed complaints about making payments or problems 

when they are unable to pay. Consumers that have filed these complaints generally 

appear to be driven by a desire to seek agreement with their companies on foreclosure 

alternatives. As with credit card complaints, consumers appear to interpret these 

categories differently.

HOW COMPANIES RESPOND TO CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

Approximately 9,885 (or 75 percent) of all complaints received between July 21 and 

December 31, 2011, were sent by Consumer Response to companies for review and 

response.9 Table 3 shows how companies responded to these complaints during this time 

period. 

Responses include a description of any steps taken or that will be taken in response to 

the complaint, communications received from the consumer as a result of any steps 

taken, any follow-up actions or planned follow-up actions in further response to the 

complaint, and categorization of the response. Beginning December 1, 2011, response 

category options included “closed with relief,” “closed without relief,” “in progress,” and 

other administrative options. Relief is defined as objective, measurable, and verifiable 

monetary value to the consumer as a direct result of the steps taken or that will be taken 

in response to the complaint. Where a company responds “closed with relief,” additional 

space is provided to describe that relief and to assign an estimated dollar amount.10 

“Closed without relief ” indicates that the steps taken by the company in response to the 

complaint did not result in monetary value to the consumer that is objective, measurable, 

and verifiable, but may have addressed some or all of the consumer’s complaint involving 

non-monetary requests. Consumers are given the option to review and dispute company 

responses with and without relief.

Companies responded to 88.1 percent of the complaints sent to them. Companies report 

closing over 55 percent of complaints with relief and approximately 31 percent without 

relief. 

9 The remaining complaints have been 

referred to other regulatory agencies 

(10.9 percent), found to be incomplete 

(5.4 percent), or are pending with the 

consumer or the CFPB (4.7 percent and 

4.2 percent, respectively).

10 The CFPB initially asked companies 

to categorize their response as “full 

resolution provided,” “partial resolution 

provided,” “no resolution provided,” 

or another administrative option. While 

companies’ responses under the initial 

categorizations were maintained, for 

operational and reporting purposes 

responses categorized as “full 

resolution provided,” or “partial 

resolution provided” are considered 

a subset of “closed with relief” 

and responses categorized as “no 

resolution provided” are considered a 

subset of “closed without relief.”

Table 3: How Companies Have Responded to Consumer Complaints 

# % # % # % 

Company reported closed with relief 5,476 55.4% 4,785 64.1% 306 18.6% 

Company reported closed without relief 3,028 30.6% 2,069 27.7% 768 46.7% 

Company provided administrative response 203 2.1% 112 1.5% 71 4.3% 

Company reviewing 1,178 11.9% 497 6.7% 498 30.3% 

TOTAL COMPLAINTS SENT TO COMPANY 9,885 100.0% 7,463 100.0% 1,643 100.0%

All Credit Card Mortgage
CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU 9

Beginning December 1, 2011, companies had the option to report an amount of relief 

with a response of “closed with relief.” By December 31, 2011, companies had reported 

relief amounts in response to more than 500 complaints. The CFPB is reviewing reported 

relief amounts to ensure reporting is consistent with the CFPB’s definition of relief.

CONSUMERS’ REVIEWS OF COMPANIES’ RESPONSES

Once the company responds, the CFPB provides this response to the consumer for 

review. Where the company responds “closed with relief ” or “closed without relief,” 

consumers are given the option to dispute the response.11 Complaints with disputed 

company responses are among those prioritized for investigation. Table 4 shows how 

consumers responded to the 7,349 complaints where they were given the option to 

dispute that companies report as closed or where full or partial resolution was reported. 

Consumers are asked to notify the CFPB within 30 days if they want to dispute a 

company’s response. Nearly 40 percent of such consumers did not dispute the responses 

provided. Approximately 13 percent of consumers have disputed the responses provided. 

The rest were pending with consumers at the end of this period.

11 Initially consumers were given the 

option to dispute responses from 

companies that indicated a resolution 

had been provided. With the shift 

to closure categories, consumers 

are given the option to dispute both 

responses with and without relief.

# % # % # % 

Pending consumer review of company’s 

reported resolution 3,488 47.5% 2,400 41.3% 809 77.4%

Consumer did not dispute company’s 

reported resolution 2,910 39.6% 2,681 46.1% 76 7.3%

Consumer disputed company’s reported 

resolution 951 12.9% 734 12.6% 160 15.3%

TOTAL COMPLAINTS 

FOR CONSUMER REVIEW 7,349 100.0% 5,815 100.0% 1,045 100.0%

Table 4: Consumer Review of Company Responses

All Credit Card Mortgage
10 CONSUMER RESPONSE ANNUAL REPORT, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU

CONSUMER RESPONSE INVESTIGATIONS

After requesting that companies respond to all complaints filed and giving consumers the 

opportunity to review and dispute company responses, Consumer Response primarily 

focuses its review and investigation efforts on those complaints where the consumer 

disputed the response or where the company failed to provide a timely response. 

Consumer Response also periodically investigates groups of complaints to survey 

product- and issue-specific trends. Consumer Response investigations seek to determine 

why a company failed to provide a timely response (if applicable) and whether the 

consumer’s dispute of the company’s response (if applicable) justifies additional review 

with regard to the company’s minimum required actions under the consumer financial 

protection laws within the CFPB’s authority. In the course of an investigation, Consumer 

Response may ask companies and consumers for additional information. When a 

Consumer Response investigation is completed, Consumer Response sends the consumer 

a summary. In some cases, Consumer Response has referred complaints to colleagues 

in the CFPB’s Division of Supervision, Enforcement, and Fair Lending and Equal 

Opportunity for further action.

Listening and responding to consumers is an integral part of the CFPB’s work to 

understand issues in the financial marketplace. As Consumer Response processes 

complaints, it also continues to identify new ways to improve its processes to make 

them as efficient, effective, and easy-to-use as possible. The Bureau uses consumer 

complaints to inform its work in making prices and risks clearer, protecting consumers of 

financial products and services, and encouraging financial markets to operate fairly and 

competitively.