Consumer agency logs 5,000 credit card complaints

Published 4:00 am Thursday, December 1, 2011

WASHINGTON — In its first three months of operation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau got more than 5,000 complaints about credit cards, the federal agency said in a report.

“When consumers contact us, we get a snapshot of how the consumer finance markets are working,” said Raj Date, the special Treasury Department adviser who is running the bureau until the Senate confirms a director.

The agency, which launched on July 21, has made handling complaints a top priority. The report covered complaints received through Oct. 21.

“Many complaints show consumers struggling to understand the terms of credit cards and associated products like debt protection services,” the report said. “These complaints show a mismatch between consumer expectations and the way the product functions.”

Billing disputes were the most common problem, with 13.4 percent of the complaints, followed by disputes about interest rates, at 11 percent, and complaints about identity theft and other fraud issues, with 10.8 percent.