The CFPB is effectively non-existent 🪦, which means that when a bank holds your money and shouldn’t, doesn’t award a bonus when they should, changes credit card terms in an illegal manner, or sends all of your personal details to an adult website owner, you don’t have an easy, central resource for fixing it. You still have tools at your disposal to help though (ordered by of likely ease of use):
- Your state banking regulator and charter administration
- The BBB
- Your state banking commission
- The FDIC for banks or the NCUA for credit unions
- State small claims court
- The OCC (ya down with OCC? yeah you know me!)
- FTC
- Arbitration (most banks have these clauses in their paperwork, and they’re almost always obligated to pay for the arbitration too)
Don’t shy away from the arbitration option when the numbers get into five digits, if the bank obviously behaved incorrectly your odds are probably great.
Happy Wednesday!
OCC’s current official coffee mug.