Industry professionals reacted with a renewed wave of criticism, in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau turning on a new feature to its consumer complaint data base, making consumer “narratives” public.
Attorney Mark Joseph Kenney, chairman at Severson & Werson, said the narratives are a one-sided opportunity for consumers to vent, as opposed to a genuine opportunity for consumers to register a complaint and for lenders to resolve those complaints. He said in an email to Auto Finance News:
A billboard in Times Square is simply not the place for a thoughtful investigation of a genuine complaint.
In a separate statement last week Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association, said he was “profoundly disappointed” with the CFPB’s decision to turn on the “narratives” feature, over industry objections. He said:
Publishing unverified one-sided narratives does not benefit consumers. The CFPB prides itself on being a data-driven agency, but today’s action is simply a public shaming of banks.
Of the nearly 9,000 narratives the CFPB has received to date, more than 350 — only about 4% — were categorized as auto finance specific. Many of the complaints are vague and hard to follow. Even with the best will in the world, it’s hard to see how a lender could resolve some of the issues they raise, based on the information presented.
For its part the CFPB argues that publishing consumer complaints without giving consumers the opportunity to tell their stories deprives the complaints of their “heart and soul.” The auto finance industry has been objecting to the policy since it was first proposed in July 2014.
