Wealth Finance

Consumer Response #408999 of the brand-new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had not yet received a single credit-card complaint or comment as of 9 A.M. this morning.

Let’s see how long that lasts.

I found #408999 on the Web site of the new Bureau, aka the CFPB, which officially opened its doors today with the mandate of serving the needs of consumers of credit cards, car loans, student loans, mortgages, and numerous other financial products. Much has been made about what the Bureau can’t do as long as it has no appointed head. But in fact, there’s a lot the bureau can do.

One of its most promisingand challengingmandates is helping consumers untangle problems with their credit cards. It remains to be seen how many consumers will take advantage of the potentially powerful tools the CFPB offers on its site, and how effective the new agency will be in providing help. But it’s worth trying out this new outlet, especially if you’ve hit a brick wall with your credit-card company.

Just about the first element you notice on the CFPB’s fresh-looking home page is the box, “submit a credit card complaint.” Click there and you’re taken to a page where you can type in your gripe, tell how much money you lost, and give other details that the CFPB says it will forward to your credit-card company. The agency says it will provide a tracking number, and keep you apprised of what the credit-card company says. In theory, having a government agency breathing down their necks will force credit-card companies to be more responsive to consumer grievances.

I found Consumer Response #408999 by clicking to the right of the fill-in form, where it says you can chat with the CFPB if you have trouble with the electronic form. I wasn’t having trouble, but I wanted to see who was on the other end. I found a personnot a machinewho told me that consumers can expect to wait 10 days to get a response for their complaints. “That is the requirement but it may take a little longer,” my chat-mate said.

At that very moment, I didn’t have a complaint about my credit-card companies, but I’m sure a lot of folks do. So check out the site now, gripe away, and comment back to let me know how it worked for you.

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