A consumer advocacy group has stepped and taken the step usually performed by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and published a list of the debt collection companies that have received the most complaints filed by consumers with the CFPB’s consumer complaint database.
The CFPB published a Complaint Snapshot report last week and spotlighted debt collection complaints in the report, but did not publish any specific results about which companies had received the most complaints. Under former director Richard Cordray, the company complaint information was usually included in the Complaint Snapshot report. When it wasn’t included in last week’s report, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group decided to step in and take care of it on its own.
A copy of the report can be accessed by clicking here.
The U.S. PIRG report, for example, noted that Encore Capital Group has received the most complaints in 32 different states. Portfolio Recovery Associates has received the most complaints in four states, and 14 other collection agencies were the most complained-about in one state each.
The report also noted that, on a per-capita basis, more people in the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Delaware complain to the CFPB about debt collection than any other state. Residents in Iowa, Vermont, and North Dakota had the fewest number of complaints on a per-capita basis.
Among the conclusions reached by the report was a call for the CFPB to “complete a strong debt collection rule improving protections,” to “reinstate all delayed or terminated rulemakings, investigations and enforcement actions,” to maintain public access to the complaint database, and to resume monthly publications of the Complaint Snapshot report.
