Deposit accounts are a "cornerstone financial tool," and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has highlighted consumer complaints about deposit accounts and services in its monthly complaint snapshot. The August 2016 report (Vol. 14) indicates that consumers continue to experience problems managing their accounts. It also spotlights complaints coming from the state of Ohio.
"Deposit accounts are an essential component of millions of consumers’ financial lives," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "Consumers who are eligible for a deposit account should be able to get one and use it effectively."
The CFPB publishes a monthly complaint report that spotlights complaints received by the bureau. Considering that the CFPB draws from consumer complaints when targeting areas for rulemaking, the complaint reports can be an indication of the bureau's future focus.
Spotlight category. Complaints submitted to the
CFPB under the spotlight category of bank accounts and services cover deposit
account products and services offered by banks, credit unions, and nonbank
companies. There are more than 200 million deposit accounts open nationwide,
and as of Aug. 1, 2016, the CFPB had handled approximately 94,200 bank account
or service complaints. According to the bureau’s report, consumers complain
about:
- difficulties opening accounts, including reporting data being used for screening new accounts;
- overdraft fees stemming from confusion about the availability of funds deposited; and
- financial institutions’ error resolution procedures, particularly prolonged response times and lack of provisional credit when reporting unauthorized transactions.
National overview. As of Aug. 1, 2016, the CFPB has handled approximately 954,400 complaints nationally. Highlights from the monthly snapshot include the following.
- For July 2016, debt collection was the most-complained-about financial product or service, followed by credit reporting and mortgages.
- In a year-to-year comparison examining the three-month time period of May to July, student loan complaints showed the greatest increase—64 percent—of any product or service.
- Alaska, Wyoming, and Colorado experienced the greatest year-to-year complaint volume increases from May to July 2016 period versus the same previous time period 12 months earlier.
- The three companies that received the most complaints from March through May 2016 were credit reporting companies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
- debt collection is the most complained about product or service;
- complaints relating to mortgages are lower than the national rate; and
- the three most complained about companies by consumers from Ohio were Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
For more information about the CFPB's monthly complaint snapshots, subscribe to the Banking and Finance Law Daily.
