Credit reporting, New Mexico consumers featured in latest complaint snapshot

Complaints about credit reporting were highlighted in the latest in a series of complaint snapshots from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Complaints about credit reporting were highlighted in the latest in a series of complaint snapshots from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The report also summarized complaints from consumers in New Mexico.

The report shows that consumers continue to complain about incorrect information on their credit reports as well as difficulty having errors resolved. More than three-quarters of complaints dealt with errors on reports.

Since it began accepting complaints on credit reporting in October 2012, the bureau has handled approximately 143,700 credit reporting complaints.

As of May 1, the bureau had handled more than 882,800 total complaints across all products. In that time, consumers in New Mexico have submitted 4,700 of those complaints. Debt collection is the largest pain point for those consumers, accounting for 31 percent compared to 27 percent nationally.

While mortgage complaints make up 26 percent of the national total, they only make up 19 percent of complaints in New Mexico.

Nation-wide, the most complained-about product in the month of April was debt collection, with about 7,330 complaints out of 23,870. Credit reporting came second with approximately 4,587 complaints. The two categories accounted for two-thirds of complaints in April.

“We have taken action against an individual loan officer for illegal mortgage fee-shifting,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “This should send a strong message that the law must be followed not only by large financial institutions, but also by the individuals who work for them.”

Previous installments of the series, which launched in July 2015, have highlighted complaints about mortgages and from California consumers; debt collection and Florida consumers; prepaid complaints and Texas consumers, among other issues and geographic areas.

Fredrikson & Byron Law