CFPB overhauls complaint system to curb ‘abuse’

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is changing how it handles consumer complaints, focusing heavily on credit reporting issues. For retailers and merchants, this is an important shift in the regulatory landscape. The bureau is implementing new technologies and stricter filing requirements to filter out automated or 'low-quality' complaints often submitted by credit repair companies. What this means for your business is a potential change in how your financing partners handle disputes. If a customer has a dispute regarding a credit line or a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) agreement, the process for them to escalate that to a federal level just became more rigorous. The CFPB claims this will 'restore integrity' and ensure that legitimate grievances from your customers are seen by actual investigators rather than being buried in a mountain of bot-generated noise. However, some consumer advocates worry these changes make it harder for the average person to navigate the system. As a merchant, you should be prepared for your lenders to perhaps be more aggressive in internal dispute resolution now that the federal 'safety valve' is tightening. Keeping clean records of customer transactions and financing approvals is more important than ever to protect your business from valid complaints that do make it through the new, stricter filters.

Source: Banking Dive

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