Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Action issued a joint Statement for the Record before U.S. House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Financial Institutions.

Consumer Action and Consumer Federation of America strongly oppose the latest attacks on the CFPB Complaint Database. The Acting Director and the Trump administration’s goal is to eliminate this critical tool under the false pretense of supporting efficiency and improvement. Their intentions run counter to Congress’s expressed objectives and to the needs of consumers of financial services.

Rep Barr’s bill, the Eliminating Fraud in CFPB Complaint Database Act (HR 7588), requires invasive verification measures to file a complaint, such as requiring consumers and their representatives to submit a copy of a Social Security card, birth certificate, or driver’s license. The bill gives offending companies permission to close a complaint if they believe the dispute is frivolous, duplicative, not submitted by an authorized third party, misleading, or fraudulent.