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Your Money · Report · File No. 261112-417

CFPB complaints surge after Trump officials drop suits against big financial firms

A Guardian analysis finds complaints rose more than 75% against firms whose federal lawsuits were dropped. Consumer advocates say that leaves older Americans with less protection from scams, fees and bad loans.

By the Kitchen-Table Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

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Donald Trump
Donald Trump. Photo: Daniel Torok, Public domain

Complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) about banks and other financial firms keep rising. Trump administration officials, meanwhile, have pulled back on enforcement at the agency, the Guardian reported Thursday 1.

The CFPB is the federal agency created to police lenders, banks and debt collectors. Early in Donald Trump's second term, it dropped consumer protection lawsuits against big names including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway 1.

What the data shows

The Guardian analyzed the CFPB's own complaint data. Across all banks and companies named as defendants in the dropped suits, the number of complaints posted to the agency's public database rose by more than 75% 1.

Of the 23 financial firms named as defendants, 17 saw more complaints 1. Complaints against Rocket Mortgage rose more than 130% in the year after the bureau dropped a suit accusing its sibling company, Rocket Homes, of kickbacks. Complaints against Branch Messenger rose 315% after its case was dismissed 1.

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Public complaints overall have grown from nearly 2.7 million in 2024 to 6.3 million so far this year 1.

Consumers are telling the bureau that there is an emergency, and the bureau is not listening or acting on that information
Erie Meyer, former chief technologist, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau1

Enforcement has nearly stopped

Between mid-2012 and early 2025, the bureau publicly launched nearly 400 enforcement actions, roughly 30 a year. The agency has said those actions helped return more than $21 billion in restitution and cancelled debts to consumers 1.

Since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, the CFPB's website shows just two public enforcement actions 1.

Consumer Reports said in February that the bureau had abandoned more than 22 enforcement actions. It said those cases could have returned more than $3 billion to consumers 2.

Dismantling the CFPB sends the message that it's open season on consumers
Chuck Bell, advocacy programs director, Consumer Reports2

A West Virginia family's story

Amanda and Jason Riffle of Clarksburg, West Virginia, bought a manufactured home sold and financed by two Berkshire Hathaway companies, Clayton Homes and Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance. Their 2025 lawsuit alleged the price rose from just over $250,000 to more than $290,000 just before closing. The case was settled on confidential terms 1.

The CFPB had dropped its own suit against Vanderbilt about three months earlier. That suit alleged the company made many manufactured-home loans without a reasonable determination that borrowers could repay them 1.

Vanderbilt said complaints against it rose from 84 to 117 over the period, which it called "extraordinarily small." It said its practices exceed legal requirements and that it disclosed loan terms accurately 1.

The agency's response

CFPB leaders did not answer detailed questions. A spokesperson said in a statement that the agency had cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars and that it was "bringing the agency back to operating within statute" 1.

What happens next

The Guardian noted that last week's midterm elections turned largely on high prices, and Democrats who criticized Trump's policies won big. The next fights over prices and abusive business practices may depend on how aggressively the winners protect consumers 1.

That matters because complaints are often the first warning that a lender or bank is treating customers badly. When the agency that reads them stops acting, people may have only private lawsuits left, as the Riffles did. Those cases are costly and slow, and many people never file one.

The Record

  1. Trump is inaugurated; since then the CFPB's website shows just two public enforcement actions 1.
  2. About a month into Trump's term, the CFPB drops its lawsuit against Rocket Homes over alleged kickbacks 1.
  3. Consumer Reports says the CFPB has abandoned more than 22 enforcement actions that could have returned over $3 billion to consumers 2.
  4. The Guardian reports complaints against firms whose suits were dropped rose more than 75% 1.
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Sources

  1. The Guardian, “'Screwed twice': The CFPB says it's looking out for consumers. Its own data tells a different story” (2026-11-12). theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/nov/12/cfpb-cons
  2. Consumer Reports, “CFPB on "life support" one year after it was targeted for shutdown” (2026-02-09). advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/cfpb-on-life-supp

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