Jun 18, 2020 - Economy

CFPB complaints spiked by 31% in first months of 2020 as Americans sought coronavirus relief

Dion Rabouin

Shoppers wear facemasks at the Mall of America — Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Consumer complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rose 31% in the first five months of 2020, compared with the same period last year, with many complaints specifically mentioning the coronavirus pandemic.

The state of play: Through May 31, the CFPB received 142,782 complaints, according to an analysis of the bureau's records by NerdWallet.

What it means: "The CFPB relays consumer complaints about loans, credit cards, bank accounts and other financial products to financial institutions."

"Among 2020 complaints explicitly mentioning 'covid' or related terms, 'struggling to pay mortgage' was the top issue."

Why it matters: The study suggests the lower-than-expected number of Americans taking advantage of mortgage forbearance and other financial hardship programs may be due to a lack of knowledge rather than a lack of interest.

Watch this space: Nearly 15 million credit cards and 3 million auto loans were placed in financial hardship programs in April and 8.6% of mortgage holders were in forbearance as of June 15.

Those numbers are both much higher than in previous months, but well below the expectations of economists, given the extreme job losses since March.
A Fannie Mae national housing survey in May found that only half of mortgage holders and a third of renters were aware of relief programs.

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CFPB complaints spiked by 31% in first months of 2020 as Americans sought coronavirus relief

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