What Is the CFPB?

What the CFPB Does

It writes and enforces the rules that banks, lenders, debt collectors, and credit bureaus have to follow. It also runs a public complaint database. That matters more than it sounds. When you file, the company has to answer, and that answer goes on the record where other people can read it.

Congress created it in 2010 after the 2008 crash. It works three ways. It writes the regulations behind laws like the FDCPA and FCRA. It examines big banks and plenty of nonbank companies, including many debt collectors and debt relief outfits. And it takes action against companies that break the rules.

So if a collector calls you five times a day after you told them to stop, that is exactly what the CFPB tracks. Your one complaint matters, and when enough people report the same company, it can turn into a real investigation.

What It Will Not Do for You

Here is the part people get wrong. The CFPB is not a court and it is not your lawyer. It will not negotiate a settlement, hand you a check, or force a company to fix your one account. What it does is put pressure on companies to answer and clean up their act, and it can go after a company on behalf of a big group of people. That is not the same as fixing your case.

If you need something taken off your credit report, a lawsuit defended, or money back, you usually need the specific law that fits, the FDCPA, FCRA, FCBA, or TCPA, and sometimes a private attorney or small claims court.

How to File a Complaint

1. Go to consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
2. Pick the category that matches your problem. Debt collection, credit report, mortgage, credit card, bank account.
3. Tell them what happened in your own words, and what you want the company to do.
4. Attach what you have. Letters, statements, your call log.
5. Submit it. They send it to the company, which usually has 15 days to get back to you and is expected to wrap most complaints in 60 days.
6. Read the response. If it is not good enough, you can dispute it, and your complaint goes into the public database with your personal details stripped out.

No lawyer, no special forms, no fee. Most people finish it in about ten minutes.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Your mortgage servicer keeps misapplying your payments and reporting you late even though you paid on time. You called twice. Nothing changed. Filing a complaint puts it in writing, on the record, with a deadline attached. A lot of servicers fix account errors fast once something routed through a regulator lands on a desk, because a pile of unanswered complaints can bring an exam. If their answer still does not fix the reporting, your next move is disputing straight with the credit bureaus under the FCRA. See our credit reporting guide.

What They Handle

Debt collection, credit report errors, mortgage servicing, bank accounts, credit cards, and loans. If your problem is a straight scam, a shady debt relief company, or a business outside finance, the FTC is probably the better door. If a collector is on you right now, our debt collection guide covers what they can and cannot do.

Where People Get Caught

• "The CFPB will cancel my debt." No. It does not erase debts or cut deals. It enforces how you get treated.
• "Filing a complaint stops a lawsuit." It does not pause a court case. If you were sued, you still answer the court on time. See debt lawsuits.
• "They only deal with banks." They also oversee plenty of collectors, debt relief companies, and credit bureaus.