The CFPB submitted to Congress its annual Consumer Response Report for 2020. According to the Bureau, the report highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumer financial marketplace as reflected in an increase in the total number of consumer complaints.

The CFPB handled approximately 542,300 complaints last year—a nearly 54% increase over the approximately 352,400 complaints handled in 2019.

The report reflects issues consumers reported to the CFPB in 2020 as influenced by numerous factors including changing market conditions. According to the CFPB report:

• Credit and consumer reporting complaints accounted for more than 58% of complaints received, followed by debt collection (15%), credit card (7%), checking or savings (6%), and mortgage complaints (5%).
• Beginning in April 2020, consumers began to submit more than 3,000 complaints mentioning coronavirus keywords nearly every month. Consumers submitted approximately 32,100 complaints mentioning coronavirus or related keywords in 2020. Absence of coronavirus as a keyword in a complaint does not necessarily mean the complaint was not related to the financial impact of the pandemic.
• The CFPB received 40,800 complaints from self-identified servicemembers, veterans, and military families.

This report also highlighted multi-year complaint trends that pre-date the pandemic, as well as how companies have responded to complaints.