CFPB halts publication of unverified complaint narratives, saying they’re one-sided

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Monday it will stop publishing unverified consumer complaint narratives and related data visualizations in its consumer complaint database, saying the information can be misleading and provides an incomplete picture of companies’ compliance.

The CFPB said publication of the narratives has always been “discretionary” and that years of experience have shown limited value from making them public.

“By their very nature, complaint narratives reflect negative consumer experiences and present only one side of an issue,” the agency said in a press release.

The CFPB said its complaint process does not independently verify the allegations contained in each narrative. It also noted that complaints do not necessarily allege violations of law.

As a result, the agency said publishing the narratives creates a sample of one-sided consumer experiences that may not give the public a balanced view of a company’s compliance with legal requirements.

The bureau also said the narratives and visualizations could confuse consumers and unnecessarily harm companies’ reputations.

Previously published narratives will remain publicly available through the CFPB’s Freedom of Information Act Reading Room. The bureau said it considers these narratives to be in the public domain for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) purposes and will proactively disclose them through the reading room, following a similar approach by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The CFPB said it will continue collecting and monitoring consumer complaints and responding to consumers. The agency also said it will continue reviewing companies’ responses for completeness, accuracy and timeliness, and it will securely share complaint information with federal and state regulators and other government agencies.

The bureau also said it will continue disclosing certain complaint data in response to FOIA requests.

The announcement comes as lawmakers have been paying attention to eliminating duplicative or fraudulent complaints in the CPFB’s database.

In February, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) introduced the Eliminating Fraud in the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Act (H.R. 7588), which would require consumers to attest to their complaints under penalty of perjury while giving financial institutions the ability to challenge and dismiss complaints deemed illegitimate.

This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.