Eliminating Fraud in the CFPB’s Complaint Database Act
Sponsored By: Representative Barr
Introduced
Summary
Upfront attestation for CFPB complaints plus new verification and confidentiality rules aim to limit fraudulent, duplicate, or unauthorized submissions while keeping complaint narratives out of public view.
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- Consumers: People who file complaints must attest under penalty of perjury that their information is true, that they filed the complaint themselves or through a specifically authorized representative with signed permission, and that they informed the company about the issue at least 60 days before filing. Acceptable ID examples include a Social Security number or card, a certified birth certificate, or a government ID like a driver’s license.
- Covered companies and responders: Firms that must answer complaints can close a submission if it is duplicative, frivolous, unauthorized, filed for a fraudulent purpose, was not reported to the firm at least 60 days earlier, or if the firm already fixed the issue. If a complaint is closed for those reasons the responder must notify the complaint unit and the closure will be recorded in the database.
- CFPB data and public access: The Bureau must keep narrative content from complaints and responses confidential and not publicly viewable. The Bureau may still publish aggregated data and trend analyses that exclude personally identifiable information and any narrative content that could be linked to a person or a responder.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
New complaint rules for consumers and companies
This bill would change how people file complaints with the Bureau and how those complaints are handled. It would require each filer to attest under penalty of perjury that their information is true, that they are the consumer or an authorized representative, and that the consumer told the company about the issue at least 60 days before filing. Authorized representatives would need to provide sufficient ID and a written, signed authorization. The Bureau Director would set verification methods and, if a complaint was filed without authorization, would try to tell the consumer and provide the submitter's name to the company. Companies could close complaints after a reasonable determination if a complaint is duplicative, frivolous, unauthorized, filed for fraud, filed before the company was told within 60 days, or already remedied; companies must notify the Bureau unit and the unit must record the closure and reason. The bill would also require the Bureau to keep complaint and response narrative text confidential and not publicly viewable, while still allowing aggregated, non-identifiable complaint data and trend reports.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Barr
KY • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov