The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing a new policy that would allow consumers to publicly voice their complaints about consumer financial products and services.
When consumers submit a complaint to the CFPB, they would have the option to share their account of what happened in the CFPB's public-facing Consumer Complaint Database.
According to the CFPB, publishing consumer narratives would provide important context to the complaint, help the public to detect specific trends in the market, aid consumer decision-making and drive improved consumer service.
The CFPB began accepting complaints since its creation in July 2011. To date, the bureau says it has handled more than 400,000.
The CFPB explains that a consumer or company can withdraw publishing consent at any time and that no personal information will be shared with the public.
A copy of the proposed policy can be found here.