4 Ways The CFPB Can Help You With Financial Issues
May 20, 2014Are you dealing with a challenging financial issue? Whether it’s a decision you need to make or a mess you need to get out of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) exists to help. Its mission is “To make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans – whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products.” How can the CFPB help you?
1) Problems With Financial Products, Services, or Providers
Submit a complaint to the CFPB.
The range of complaints the CFPB accepts is pretty broad, including any trouble you may be having with debt collection, credit reporting, banking, credit cards, mortgages, money transfers, student loans, payday loans, and vehicle and other consumer loans. You can learn more about the complaint process here. Note, once you submit your complaint, it may be added to the CFPB’s online complaint database. However, all personally-identifying information is omitted.
2) Shopping Around For a Credit Card
Browse the CFPB’s Credit Card Agreement Database.
On the surface, a credit card offer may look and sound like a good deal. Only by reading through the credit card agreement can you know what you’re really getting into though. Next time you’re considering a credit card offer, take the time to look for it in the CFPB’s database of credit card agreements from more than 300 card issuers.
You can also find on the CFPB website a sample of a simplified credit card agreement. While its use is not mandatory for credit card issuers, it will at least give you a good idea of what exactly you should be looking for in your agreement comparisons.
3) Paying For a College
Follow CFPB financial aid guides; compare financial aid offers.
Sending your kids to college is supposed to improve their financial future, not make it more difficult. Yet college graduates are leaving school saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debt that many spend years struggling to pay back. Take a look at the CFPB’s guides to student loans and student banking.
And as you’re shopping around for schools, be sure to ask them for the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet. The Financial Aid Shopping Sheet is a new tool developed by the CFPB aimed at helping students and their families easily compare the cost of college from one school to the next. Though its use is voluntary, thousands of colleges and universities are already on board.
4) Trouble Paying Your Mortgage
Refer to the CFPB’s list of housing counselors and state agencies.
If you are facing disclosure on your home, it may feel like you’re out of options. The CFPB wants you to know that is not true. You’ll find on their website links to housing counselors and state agencies who may be able to help you find a workable solution.
Find details and resources on the CFPB’s official website at ConsumerFinance.gov.
This entry is a guest post by Meredith Simonds, the personal finance blogger for Credit Info Center. You can follow her on Twitter: @creditinfocentr.