Mortgages, debt collectors and credit bureaus are the three financial issues that Denver consumers complain about the most, according to a report Tuesday from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“Overall, complaints from Denver area residents closely reflect the national trends the CFPB is seeing in terms of complaints submitted,” said Walter Suskind, a spokesman for the bureau.
The consumer watchdog started taking complaints back in July 2011 and through Sept. 1 has received 11,500 from Colorado consumers, including 7,000 from metro Denver, the source of about 1 percent of the 702,900 complaints received in total.
The bureau was formed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, in part to prevent a repeat of consumers taking on questionable mortgages they didn’t understand and couldn’t afford.
Although the excesses of a decade ago are mostly gone, mortgages still represent the top financial product, at $10 trillion, and also the top source of complaints both nationally and in Denver, where they accounted for 27 percent of the total.
About half of mortgage-related complaints nationally center on what happens after a borrower falls behind, including a lack of information and delays during a loan modification.
“Additionally consumers complain that servicers often move forward with foreclosure proceedings while the consumer’s modification application is still under review,” the CFPB said.
Consumers also don’t like being left in the dark when their mortgages get transferred to another company or when mortgage servicers fail to follow the instructions on applying payments.
Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Ocwen were the three companies generating the greatest number of mortgage-related complaints with the CFPB.
Credit reporting bureaus Equifax and Experian generated the most complaints both nationally and in Colorado among named companies. Debt collectors as a group accounted for 26 percent of consumer complaints in Denver, slightly above the U.S. average, Suskind said.
U.S. Bank made the top 10 list of companies generating complaints in Denver, even though it didn’t rank nationally.
Consumers can file complaints on financial products or services online at or by calling 855-411-2372.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or @aldosvaldi
