DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/376795
40 Quest Preservation, a full-service property rehabilitation company, renovates, repairs, and remodels various types of properties. Currently, Quest Preservation o ers a wide range of both property preservation and eld services in a total of 18 states. Comprised of talented and dedicated individuals, the team at Quest Preservation is able to provide an exceptional standard of work. Quest Preservation 888-QUEST-06 www.questpreservation.com 16808 Armstrong Ave. Suite 215 Irvine, CA 92606 Our Quest is Your Success! Our Quest is Your Success! CFPB PROPOSES TO PUBLISH COMPLAINT NARRATIVES AGAINST BANKS, SERVICERS In the wake of the financial crisis, the trust level between the banks that are seen by many as a culprit in the downturn and consumers who are, in many cases, still attempting to fully recover is tenuous at best. In the middle, you've got the referee: the federal government, charged with ensuring that the circumstances seen in the latter part of the previous decade do not repeat themselves. To that end, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule to allow consumers who post complaints to opine on the details of their complaint made on the bureau's public-facing complaint database. e CFPB argues that allowing consumers to expand on the circumstances surrounding their complaints allows for greater transparency in the system. "e consumer experience shared in the narrative is the heart and soul of the complaint," said CFPB director Richard Cordray. "By publicly voicing their complaint, consumers can stand up for themselves and others who have experienced the same problem. ere is power in their stories, and that power can be put in service to strengthen the foundation for consumers, responsible providers, and our economy as a whole." e banking and servicing community is, perhaps understandably, concerned. "Publishing narratives of every unverified complaint will give only the illusion of disclosure. Banks have an obligation to their customers to maintain the confidentiality of their information, making it virtually impossible for a bank to offer a complete response to these narratives," said Richard Hunt, president and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association. "It is the role of the CFPB as the traffic cop to distinguish violations of law from unfounded complaints. Instead, they want to let others figure it out from one-sided and unverified narrative information." e CFPB began receiving complaints from consumers when it opened its doors in 2011. It currently houses the nation's largest public collection of consumer complaints, with more than 400,000 grievances and growing. Consumers already have the option of posting a short synopsis of the basic facts of their complaint in an attached small textbox. is rule proposal, published for 30 days of comment, will allow full narratives. e bureau argues that the process safeguards the banks' reputations by allowing them to respond to the complaint with a concurrently posted response. Hunt is not convinced. "is action will ultimately add to consumer confusion, harm industry reputations, and undermine any hope the CFPB may have to be viewed as a fair and honest broker," he said. "For an agency which prides itself on being driven by accurate data, this is very disappointing."