On June 24, the CFPB announced changes to its consumer complaint system to address what it described as “flaws” that limited the system’s effectiveness and the practical utility of its complaint information. The CFPB said that consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) have not uniformly reported how they respond to complaints and said it issued a new company portal manual to standardize response closure categories. The CFPB noted that it: (i) launched two-factor authentication for online accounts; (ii) added third-party disclosure language and relationship categories; (iii) planned address validation at complaint submission; (iv) was developing support materials for authorized representatives; and (v) added a notice emphasizing that consumers must first exhaust their dispute rights directly with CRAs before coming to the CFPB.

The CFPB cited data depicting an increase in credit or consumer reporting complaints from over 150,000 complaints in 2019 to more than 5 million in 2025. The CFPB attributed the increase to certain factors such as misuse of the complaint process by credit repair organizations and credit clinics, social media encouragement to submit complaints, adoption of new technologies such as AI tools, and businesses seeking to boost credit scores by disputing accurate information on consumer reports. The CFPB asserted that these changes will help CRAs focus resources on complaints that the CFPB deems to warrant review as required by the FCRA, and will continue exploring additional administrative response categories, including when a user appears to be abusing the complaint process, and additional steps to monitor and safeguard the complaint system.