On 4/28/2021, the CFPB issued a bulletin that analyzes complaints submitted by consumers in counties nationwide. In their release, the CFPB explains that, in 2019 and 2020, it received more complaints on a per-capita basis from consumers living in predominantly minority counties than from consumers in predominantly white, non-Hispanic counties. Consumers in counties with the highest percentage of minority population submitted complaints at over four times the rate compared to counties with the lowest percentage of minority population.
The bulletin provides county-level visualization of trends the CFPB identifies in per-capita submission of complaints. The bulletin analyzes complaints at the county level and describes the CFPB’s ongoing work to better understand the communities that submit complaints and how their problems vary.
Among other key findings in this bulletin:
From 2019 to 2020, consumer complaints increased across all demographic groups. Complaints increased at a greater rate in predominantly minority counties compared to predominantly white, non-Hispanic counties.
Consumers living in predominantly minority counties submitted more complaints on a per capita basis in nearly every one of the 11 product categories about which the Bureau accepts complaints.
Credit or consumer reporting appears to cause significantly more issues for consumers in predominantly minority counties.
The CFPB will soon expand demographic collection to include household size and income. As part of this work, the CFPB will enhance its complaint form to give consumers the option to provide household size and household income when submitting a complaint. The CFPB will also begin exploring what additional information it may need to help better understand the experiences of diverse communities that submit complaints.
The CFPB Complaint Bulletin can be found here.
