Civil Penalty Fund | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2024)

FAQs

Is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau legit? ›

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) helps consumers by providing educational materials and accepting complaints. It supervises banks, lenders, and large non-bank entities, such as credit reporting agencies and debt collection companies.

All civil penalties that anyone pays to the CFPB are pooled in this common fund, and the money is used to pay any eligible harmed consumers in accordance with the Civil Penalty Fund rule.

Consistent with applicable law, we securely share complaints with other state and federal agencies to, among other things, facilitate: supervision activities, enforcement activities, and. monitor the market for consumer financial products and services.

In 2023, the CFPB filed 29 enforcement actions and resolved through final orders 6 previously-filed lawsuits. Those orders require lawbreakers to pay approximately $3.07 billion to compensate harmed consumers and pay approximately $498 million in civil money penalties.

Sometimes the CFPB will send a warning letter to advise recipients that certain actions may violate federal consumer financial law. These are not accusations of wrongdoing. Instead, they are meant to help recipients review certain practices and ensure that they comply with federal law.

Here's how to tell if it's legit. If you have received a check from the CFPB, it is because we have taken an enforcement action against a person or company for violating a consumer financial protection law, and you are eligible for compensation as a result of this violation.

The maximum penalty imposed under section 611 of the Act shall be $3,558 for each violation, up to a maximum of $4,446,755 for any related series of violations occurring within one year from the date of the first violation.

A civil penalty is a non-criminal remedy for a party's violations of laws or regulations. Civil penalties usually only include civil fines or other financial payments as a remedy for damages. An action seeking a civil penalty can be brought by the government, or by a private party in the shoes of the government.

What is an IRS Civil Penalty? Civil penalties are most often monetary fines assessed if you do not file or pay your taxes. Extreme cases are given criminal penalties. When the IRS assesses a civil penalty, you will be fined 5% for every month you are past due, up to five months after April 15th.

The CFPB supervises a range of companies to assess their compliance with federal consumer financial laws. We have supervisory authority over banks, thrifts, and credit unions with assets over $10 billion, as well as their affiliates.

What does the CFPB investigate? ›

Enforcement uses investigations to gather facts and identify violations of federal consumer financial law to determine whether a public enforcement action is necessary.

Today, the Supreme Court held 7-2 that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure—which allows the agency to draw money from the Federal Reserve—does not violate the Constitution's Appropriations Clause.

Our work includes: Rooting out unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices by writing rules, supervising companies, and enforcing the law. Enforcing laws that outlaw discrimination in consumer finance. Taking consumer complaints.

The main issue before SCOTUS that the plaintiff organizations brought was that the rule was unconstitutional because the CFPB essentially has a “self-funding mechanism,” which violates the Appropriations Clause and because the authority on which the rule is based violates the non-delegation doctrine.

When we take an enforcement action against an entity or person we believe has violated the law, we will post court documents and other related materials here. The Bureau may enforce the law by filing an action in federal district court or by initiating an administrative adjudication proceeding.

The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by collecting reports from consumers and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights ...

The CFPB implements and enforces federal consumer financial laws to ensure that all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services that are fair, transparent, and competitive.

CFPB. Challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for pulling back on data collection to protect women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses against discriminatory lending.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) is an independent bureau within the Federal Reserve System that empowers consumers with the information they need to make financial decisions in the best interests of them and their families.