Equifax subject of most consumer bureau complaints in all but one state: analysis

Equifax was the subject of more consumer bureau complaints than any other financial services company in all but one state in 2017, according to an analysis of agency data published Thursday.

In every state but North Dakota, more residents complained to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) about the credit reporting company than any other firm.

The analysis is according to LendEDU, a financial resources website, which compiled the most frequently appearing companies in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database. The database tracks and — to the ire of the finance industry — publishes every complaint received by the CFPB about a bank or financial services company.

Equifax revealed in September that hackers accessed the personal information of more than 140 million people. The data accessed in the July breach included Social Security numbers and other sensitive information that could be used in identity theft.

The credit reporting agency is under federal investigation, and former CEO Richard Smith was excoriated by lawmakers in two tense October congressional hearings. Credit card companies and credit unions expressed outrage and concern over the data breach affecting millions of their customers.

LendEDU analysis shows that Equifax was the subject of 30,576 CFPB complaints across the United States. Equifax was the most complained about company in each state but North Dakota, where rival credit bureau Experian took the top spot.

Americans filed a total of 235,094 complaints with the bureau, and the District of Columbia had the highest per capita frequency of CFPB complaints.

Republicans have long targeted the CFPB complaint database; they say unverified complaints shouldn’t be made public before the company has a chance to respond or rectify the situation.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director picked by Trump to lead the agency for now, has suspended the collection of consumer data and halted much of its regulatory and enforcement actions.