Last month the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its 2014 Consumer Response Annual Report. Last year the CFPB received approximately 250,700 consumer complaints. The most significant categories of complaints were debt collection (35%), mortgage (20%), and credit reporting (18%).
In the mortgage category the CFPB reported that it received approximately 51,200 complaints in 2014.
- The most common type of mortgage complaint (49% of total) involves problems consumers face when they are unable to make payments, such as issues relating to loan modifications, collections, or foreclosures. In particular, consumers still complain about delays and ambiguity in the review of their modification applications.
- Complaints related to making payments (35% of total), include loan servicing, posting of payments, or management of escrow accounts. For example, consumers express concern over difficulties they experience when the servicing of their loan is transferred, including complaints about fees charged by the prior servicer, unexplained escrow deficiencies, issues with the new servicer accepting the previous servicer’s modification, and communication between the old and new servicer (especially when loss mitigation efforts are ongoing).
- Consumer complaints about mortgage originations (8% of the total) relate to the lengthy application and approval processes and unauthorized credit inquiries.
- Consumers also complained about delayed loan denials that occurred just before settlement but were based upon information that was disclosed early in the application process (g., bankruptcy, lack of employment history, etc.). They expressed frustration that fees were charged even though they believe the loan originator knew that the loan would not be approved.
- A number of complaints involved the lender’s refusal to honor rate-locks, and concerns that the terms of loans with variable interest rates were not clearly disclosed.
A copy of the 62-page report is available here.