Eliminating Fraud in the CFPB’s Complaint Database Act

This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require consumers to attest under penalty of perjury that their complaint information is true, that they or an authorized representative submitted it, and that they informed the covered person (the company) about the issue at least 60 days before filing with the CFPB. It also allows covered persons to close certain complaints and requires confidentiality of narrative content in the complaint database.

Sec. 2, Collecting and tracking complaints: The bill adds new requirements to the CFPB's consumer complaint process. First, the Director must require each person submitting a complaint to attest under penalty of perjury that the information is true, that the complaint is submitted by the consumer or an authorized representative with proof of identification and a signed written document, and that the consumer directly informed the covered person about the issue at least 60 days before filing. If the Director finds a complaint was submitted without authorization, they must inform the consumer and provide the covered person with the name of the unauthorized submitter. Second, a covered person receiving a complaint may close it without further action if it is duplicative, frivolous, unauthorized, fraudulent, if the consumer did not inform them 60 days before, or if the covered person already remedied the issue. The covered person must notify the CFPB of the closure and reason. Third, the Bureau must keep narrative content in complaints and responses confidential and not publish it, though it may publish aggregated data without personally identifiable information or specific narrative content.