The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its monthly consumer complaints snapshot report on Tuesday, drilling down into a pair of topics. Those spotlight subjects included credit reporting and the city of Los Angeles.

As of Aug. 1, the CFPB reported that it has handled 677,200 complaints nationally. Some of the findings from the statistics being published in this month’s snapshot report include:

• Complaint volume: For July, bureau officials indicated the most-complained-about financial product or service was debt collection, representing about 31 percent of complaints submitted. Of the 26,704 complaints handled in July, approximately 8,224 of them were about debt collection.

The second most-complained-about consumer product was credit reporting, accounting for approximately 6,696 complaints. The third most-complained-about financial product or service was mortgages, accounting for approximately 4,498 complaints.

Auto loans weren’t listed among the 11 specific credit products trigging complaints, according to the CFPB’s report.

• Product trends: In a year-to-year comparison, the CFPB noted consumer loan complaints, which include pawn loans, title loans, and installment loans, showed the greatest percentage increase — 61 percent — from the same time last year. They went from approximately 718 complaints to 1,154 complaints on average per month over a three-month time period.

The bureau added that bank account or services complaints showed the greatest percentage decrease over the same time period, going from a monthly average of 1,976 complaints in 2014 to 1,895 complaints in 2015, a 4 percent decrease.

• State information: Officials pointed out Hawaii, Maine, Georgia, and North Carolina experienced the greatest complaint volume increases from the same time last year; with Hawaii up 37 percent, Maine up 36 percent, and both Georgia and North Carolina up by 33 percent.

The CFPB also mentioned South Dakota, New Mexico, and Alaska experienced the greatest complaint volume decrease from the same time last year, with South Dakota down 31 percent, New Mexico down 16 percent, and Arkansas down 11 percent.

• Most-complained-about companies: Bureau officials went on to report that the top three companies that received the most complaints from March through May of this year were Equifax, Experian, and Bank of America. The CFPB added that of the five most-complained-about companies, three of them — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — are credit reporting companies.

The CFPB explained that company-level complaint data in the report uses a three-month rolling average of complaints sent by the bureau to companies for response. This data lags other complaint data in this report by two months to reflect the 60 days companies have to respond to complaints, confirming a commercial relationship with the consumer.

“Whether a consumer is trying to get a mortgage, apply for a student loan, or buy a car, credit reports are fundamentally important in allowing people to access their financial goals,” CFPB director Richard Cordray said. “As we see a rise in the number of consumers complaining about this issue, the bureau will continue to work to ensure that credit reports are fair, accurate, and readily available to all consumers.”

More details about credit reporting issues

The bureau said it has handled approximately 105,000 credit reporting complaints since it began accepting them in October 2012. Some of the findings in the latest snapshot include:

• Sharp increase in credit reporting complaints: The CFPB saw a 56-percent increase in the number of credit reporting complaints submitted by consumers between June (4,289 complaints) and July (6,969 complaints).

In analyzing the period of May through July, officials noticed complaints increased by 45 percent compared to the prior year.  

• Consumers complain about incorrect information on credit reports: The CFPB said the majority of credit reporting complaints — 77 percent to be exact — submitted to the bureau involve incorrect information on reports.

“Consumers frequently complain of debts already paid or debts not yet due showing up on their report, negatively affecting their credit scores,” officials said.

• Consumers complain about trouble accessing reports: The bureau found that consumers consistently report issues related to accessing their credit reports as a result of rigorous online identity authentication questions.

“If unable to access the reports over the Internet, consumers have to send copies of sensitive, identifying documents through the mail, which consumers feel is time-consuming and potentially unsecure,” officials said.

• High-volume complaint companies: Out of all credit reporting complaints submitted to the bureau between March and May, the CFPB determined 97 percent of them involved the three nationwide credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Additional information about Los Angeles

This month, the CFPB highlighted the Los Angeles metro area, the second largest metro area by population in the United States. 

As of Aug. 1, the bureau tabulated that consumers in California have submitted 94,000 or 14 percent of the 677,200 complaints the CFPB has handled.  Of those complaints, 33,700 of them have come from consumers in the Los Angeles metro area.

Findings from the Los Angeles complaints include:

• Mortgages are the most-complained-about product: Officials noticed mortgage-related complaints have been the most-complained-about product in Los Angeles metro area since the CFPB started taking complaints in July 2011.

While the bureau has received more mortgage complaints nationally than any other financial product, consumers in Los Angeles have submitted mortgage complaints at a higher rate — 35 percent of total complaints — than the national average, which is 28 percent of total complaints.

• Fewer credit reporting and debt collection complaints than national numbers: For consumers in Los Angeles, the bureau mentioned credit reporting complaints — 14 percent versus 16 percent of total complaints — and debt collection complaints — 22 percent versus 25 percent of total complaints — make up a smaller percentage of the complaints they have submitted than consumers nationally.

• Companies that stand out: Without normalization, the bureau indicated credit reporting companies Equifax and Experian were the two most-complained-about companies nationally over a 12-month period.

In the Los Angeles metro area, however, official discovered the most-complained-about companies were Bank of America and Wells Fargo. In the Los Angeles metro area Experian was the third most-complained about company, followed by Equifax (fifth) and TransUnion (sixth).

The entire CFPB monthly complaint report can be found here.