Amid unprecedented market turmoil, the past two months have generated record complaint volumes to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The U.S. consumer agency reported that it received almost 80,000 complaints in March and April combined, which is well ahead of the average of 29,000 complaints per month it received in 2019.
The CFPB attributed the higher complaint numbers to factors such as market conditions and enhanced public awareness of the complaint system.
Alongside the higher complaint numbers, the agency said that it received 4,500 complaints in March and April that specifically referenced the Covid-19 pandemic.
The top issues raised in complaints that mentioned the pandemic involved mortgages and credit cards, accounting for 22% and 19% of Covid-19 complaints, respectively.
“Among mortgage complaints that mention coronavirus keywords, 59% of consumers identified struggling to pay the mortgage as the issue,” the CFPB noted.
The agency also reported that older consumers are more likely than younger ones to cite the pandemic in their complaints to the agency.