Kim, Warren press Vought over changes to CFPB complaint portal

Business Kim, Warren press Vought over changes to CFPB complaint portal Comments: by Julia Shapero - 07/16/26 8:29 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Julia Shapero - 07/16/26 8:29 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Sens. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Wednesday over the agency’s recent changes to its complaint portal, raising concerns that the move discourages consumers from seeking help.

In a letter to acting CFPB director Russell Vought shared first with The Hill, the Democratic senators questioned whether updates to the portal unveiled last month are designed to reduce the number of complaints submitted to the benefit of major credit reporting agencies.

According to an annual report from the bureau, 88 percent of consumer complaints the agency received last year were related to credit or consumer reporting.

In updating the portal, the consumer watchdog agency noted that it worked with the credit reporting agencies to resolve issues that “severely limit its effectiveness in addressing consumers’ complaints and practical utility of its information.”

However, Kim and Warren warned these changes come “at the cost of consumers who may now be discouraged from submitting complaints due to the heavy-handed and intentionally misleading statements now displayed on the system.”

“Notably, credit reports are one of the most critical financial tools available to consumers: a good credit report can help individuals obtain more favorable interest rates from a lender, and a poor credit report can make it harder to rent a house or buy a car,” they added.

The portal now tells consumers they must first dispute inaccurate or incomplete information on their credit report with the agencies directly and wait 45 days to file a complaint with the CFPB.

The senators argued there is no legal requirement for such a process, instead suggesting the Fair Credit Reporting Act created a “non-mandatory process” for consumers to dispute errors.

“In other words: the CFPB’s new screening alert does not align with the statute, nor does it reflect the reality of many individuals who file complaints,” they wrote. “It could, however, seriously discourage consumers from submitting credit reporting complaints in the first place.”

Kim and Warren also raised concerns that the agency’s new two-factor authentication process, which requires consumers to verify their identity via email and phone, could be an obstacle to older or unhoused individuals.

They underscored that the recent updates hew closely to those recommended earlier this year by the credit reporting companies, pressing the CFPB on how this impacted its decision to update the portal.

“Instead of spending time strengthening the CFPB — an agency that has served as a financial watchdog and returned over $21 billion to consumers cheated by big banks and corporations —you and President Trump have spent the last year and a half finding ways to gut the agency’s enforcement capabilities, hack away at its workforce, and slash enforcement activity,” they wrote in Wednesday’s letter.

“Your decision to roll out an updated consumer complaint system that discourages consumers from seeking assistance from the agency is yet another step in this troubling trend,” the duo added.

Vought is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. Both Kim and Warren sit on the panel, with the latter serving as the ranking member.

The acting CFPB director has overseen a tumultuous period at the consumer watchdog. Shortly after taking over in February 2025, he sought to halt the agency’s work and shut down its headquarters.

Members of the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was recently disbanded, soon appeared at the CFPB and began a push to slash the workforce that was ultimately blocked in court.

During his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Democrats slammed Vought over his tenure as acting director and cheered his upcoming departure. He is reportedly set to leave in August.