Consumer Protection

Rich Cordray, the new Director of the CFPB, has recorded a message about the extraordinary privilege he sees in working on behalf of American consumers. (more…)

Homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments should beware of con artists and scams that promise to save their homes and lower their mortgage debt or payments.

If you are struggling to pay your mortgage and are seeking a mortgage modification, keep the following tips in mind.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the CFPB to share consumer complaint information with the FTC and other state and federal agencies. The goal is to make sure agencies coordinate their enforcement of consumer financial protection laws. Recently, we signed an agreement with the FTC that moves us one step closer to achieving that goal. The agreement allows the CFPB to access consumer complaints within the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel system. In addition, we will share complaint information that we receive from consumers with the Sentinel database, subject to appropriate privacy protections and access restrictions. (more…)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will bring together under one roof a collection of important consumer protection duties that used to be scattered across the federal government. This week, we join a variety of government agencies to mark National Consumer Protection Week. This week is about raising awareness of your rights and resources as a consumer.

A critical first step in raising awareness is making clear where consumers can go for help with different kinds of issues. At the CFPB, we focus on credit cards, mortgages, and other consumer financial products and services. But obviously, there are other kinds of products that you buy and use every day, and there are other agencies that oversee those products. Here are some of the other ways that National Consumer Protection Week partners are working to protect you:

• Cell Phone Bills – When we launched ConsumerFinance.gov, we received many suggestions about changes in cell phone billing. The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees phone carriers, has information to help you understand why bills may change and what you can do to avoid “bill shock.” Learn more about the FCC’s work to prevent bill shock.
• Online Privacy – Advances in technology make it easier to find things you want or need online, but these advances can also make your personal information vulnerable to theft. Several government agencies have partnered with the technology industry to create OnGuard Online, which provides practical tips from federal government and the technology industry to help you guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov.
• Health Care Information – There are many sources of information about insurance, medication, and health care providers. It can be hard to know which to trust, but consumers need good information when they make decisions for themselves and their loved ones. The Federal Trade Commission has created Who Cares to help you find reliable information about different health care products and services. Find quality health care information at Who Cares.

To find other resources with information about your rights and resources as a consumer, visit NCPW.gov. For more information specific to consumer financial products and services, visit our National Consumer Protection Week page.

As we work to build a consumer bureau that’s responsive to today’s most pressing problems, many of us at the CFPB have travelled across the country to listen to a wide range of citizens, communities, and organizations. We’ve met with community bankers in Illinois, heard from our servicemembers at Joint Base San Antonio, and nearly got snowed in visiting small businesses in Maine – but that’s a story for another blog post!

No matter where we go, we meet people who are working hard every day to secure their financial futures and help others in their community do the same. It might be a teacher devoting a lesson plan to balancing a personal budget, new parents looking to save for their child’s future, or a high school senior relentlessly completing grant, loan, and scholarship applications to pay for college. Every day, across the country, individuals are demonstrating a commitment to personal financial responsibility, and they rely on financial education and having basic consumer protections in their pursuit.

Sometimes, they also need some help – and some HOPE. Earlier this week, I accompanied Professor Warren and members of our team to a roundtable listening session organized by Operation HOPE, a non-profit organization teaching financial literacy. This Operation HOPE branch is located in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, DC, where they are working hard to empower and protect consumers. We heard first-hand how their important work has enabled individuals to realize dreams of entrepreneurship and to get a handle on their finances through credit counseling and financial literacy training.

The listening session was an important reminder that American consumers are not in this alone. There are trusted resource centers on the ground to direct consumers to responsible lenders and beneficial products, and to be there for a community when jobs leave and individuals are forced to do more with less. Informed consumers can scrutinize product choices, understand their rights, and identify when and where to seek help. To keep the costs and risks of products clear upfront, we need a strong consumer bureau that can implement and enforce the Federal consumer financial laws.

We at the CFPB are working hard to build a consumer bureau that will be there for you when you need help the most – and that will keep consumer financial products and services clear and transparent, so you understand the terms and risks upfront. But these days, American consumers can use all the help they can get, and Operation HOPE and organizations like it are a great place to start.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their finances or looking for sound advice, reach out to a professional financial empowerment center in your area. Arm yourself with good questions. Don’t wait – take care of it right now. This National Consumer Protection Week, that’s an easy way to help secure your financial future.

Today, I addressed the National Association of Attorneys General. It was good to see some old friends and new faces – State attorneys general from around the country. Prior to coming here, I had the honor of serving as Ohio’s Attorney General. In that role, I had the privilege of being on the front lines of consumer protection, and that experience is one reason I was excited and proud to join the new consumer bureau.

From left to right: Richard Cordray (CFPB Assistant Director for Enforcement) – Roy Cooper (Attorney General for North Carolina)

State attorneys general will be an important partner for the Bureau because they understand as well as anyone the kinds of problems that consumers – their constituents – face. There’s another reason, too: Congress has emphasized that we are to enforce Federal consumer financial law consistently, without regard to whether a financial services provider is a depository institution or not, in order to promote fair competition. That work will require the sustained collaboration of State and Federal regulators, including both the consumer bureau and State attorneys general.

With new technology and fierce competition, financial services companies are developing new and fast-changing products and services that cut across existing regulatory frameworks. Leveling the playing field by treating the participants in the marketplace on par, regardless of their corporate structure or charter choice, is a new approach that will benefit both consumers and financial companies. If we learned anything from the financial crisis, it is that gaps in Federal oversight can contribute to systemic failure by allowing unwarranted and unsustainable risks to be created in the economy.

Of course, State attorneys general also know that leveling the playing field across different kinds of financial providers and products and services is essential and will require sustained resources. Tens of thousands of so-called “non-bank” companies offer consumer financial products and services – they just don’t take deposits like a bank or thrift. These companies need to be subject to similar oversight and enforcement as banks if they are competing for customers with similar products and services in the same marketplace. Our nation has always maintained independent funding for bank regulators apart from the political process – and the consumer bureau, charged with regulating both banks and non-banks, has been set up the same way.

The consumer bureau will depend on the expertise and experience of State attorneys general as we work together to protect consumers. We will be more effective and efficient because of this partnership, and I know my visit with the State attorneys general today is another step toward a sustained effort to insist on fairness in the marketplace.

Richard Cordray is the CFPB Assistant Director for Enforcement