Consumer Financial Protection Bureau teams up with Newark to help local consumers with questions or complaints

Newark consumers can call 4311 to connect with CFPB for help on financial issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is teaming up with Newark, N.J. to connect consumers with questions and complaints about financial products and services to the CFPB’s Office of Consumer Response. Newark consumers can dial the local 4311 hotline to be connected with the Bureau.

“The CFPB’s job is to help consumers navigate the often confusing financial marketplace and to hold financial institutions accountable,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Through this coordination, we will be able to reach and to help consumers who may not have found us otherwise.”

In Newark, 4311 is a non-emergency phone line residents can call to access their local city services. With today’s pilot-program announcement, Newark residents who call 4311 with a question or complaint about consumer financial products or services will be transferred to the Bureau’s Consumer Response team.

Consumer Response works with consumers on the challenges they face with financial products and services. The department screens complaints for completeness, jurisdiction, and non-duplication. Complaints that meet these criteria are then sent to the company (bank or nonbank) for review and response. Companies are given 15 days to provide a response and are expected to close all but the most complicated complaints within 60 days. Consumers can log into the CFPB’s website to check the status of their complaint and to provide feedback about the company’s response.

The CFPB began accepting consumer complaints on credit cards on July 21, 2011. The Bureau has since expanded that capacity and now also accepts complaints about mortgages, bank products and services, consumer loans, student loans, and credit reporting. The Bureau has received over 130,000 consumer complaints.

In addition to calling 4311, Newark consumers and those consumers outside of the Newark area can submit a complaint by:

- Visiting consumerfinance.gov/Complaint
- Calling the toll-free phone number at (855) 411-CFPB (2372) or TTY/TDD phone number at (855) 729-CFPB (2372)
- Faxing the CFPB at (855) 237-2392
- Mailing a letter to P.O. Box 4503, Iowa City, Iowa 52244