Filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) takes about ten minutes. Writing one that gets a useful answer takes more thought, and you generally get only one try: the CFPB says you generally can't submit a second complaint about the same problem.
This guide covers what to do before you file, what to put in the text, and what happens afterwards. It also uses our analysis of the CFPB complaint database, where 3.8 million complaints include a published narrative, to show what copied templates look like and how they fare. We report those results as correlations, not as proof of cause.
The short version
- Contact the company first, and keep a record.
- For a credit report error, dispute it with the credit reporting company before you file.
- Write your own account: what happened, when, how much, who you spoke to.
- Say what you want the company to do.
- Attach statements and letters (up to 50 pages).
- Put everything in the first complaint.
Before You File
- Try the company first. The CFPB says companies can usually answer questions specific to your situation.
- Credit report errors: the CFPB says you must first dispute inaccurate information directly with the credit or consumer reporting company. Our Credit Report Dispute Letter Generator (FCRA) and Credit Report Error Checklist help with that step.
- Scams: the CFPB points scam victims to extra steps first, such as contacting local police and your state attorney general.
- Have your details ready: name, email, phone and address. The company needs your address to respond. If the company isn't in the form's list, you must provide its complete contact information.
What to Write
The CFPB's own advice is to be clear and concise, and to include only the most important dates, amounts and communications with the company. In practice:
- Start with the problem in one or two sentences. ("On 3 March my bank closed my account without warning and held $2,300.")
- Put the facts in order, with dates and amounts. Who you spoke to, what they said, what they promised.
- Say what you want. A refund, a correction, a reply in writing. (This part is our advice; the CFPB page does not specify a resolution to request.)
- Leave out anger, speculation and long legal arguments. The reader is a complaint handler who needs to find the facts quickly.
- Attach proof. Account statements and communications with the company, up to 50 pages.
- Don't file twice. Because a second complaint on the same problem is generally not accepted, include everything the first time.
What Happens Next
According to the CFPB: your complaint is sent directly to the company; the CFPB emails you updates and you can check status in the portal; companies generally respond in 15 days, and in some cases tell you the response is in progress and give a final response in 60 days; you can review the response and have 60 days to give feedback. If another agency is better able to help, the CFPB sends the complaint there and lets you know. The CFPB also publishes information about your complaint, without information that directly identifies you, in its public database.
What Our Data Shows About Templates
Many people copy a ready-made complaint text. We measured how common that is: across 2015 to 2026, 36.1% of published narratives are shared templates (the same or nearly the same text filed from at least two different locations) and 42.4% are original. We call a narrative "original" when no other narrative matches it. The method and its limits are in our research log and the full investigation: The Copy-Paste Complaint.
What happens to those complaints? Comparing complaints about the same issue (2022 to 2025):
- When the goal is money: in bank accounts, under "Problem caused by your funds being low", 18.6% of original complaints ended with monetary relief against 0.3% of template complaints.
- When the goal is a correction: in credit reporting, under "Incorrect information on your report", non-monetary relief was 35% for original complaints and 51% for templates.
Read this carefully. These are correlations. Templates and original complaints are not randomly assigned: people who copy a template may have different cases, different companies and different goals. The data does not show that a template causes a lower or higher chance of a result. What it does show is that outcomes differ by type of goal: in the money example, almost all successful cases were original complaints; in the correction example, template complaints were not worse off. We offer no explanation for why, and we do not claim one.
Common Mistakes (With Real Examples From the Data)
- Leaving the placeholder in. One complaint still said "[ Credit Bureau Name ]". → The Complaint That Still Said "[ Credit Bureau Name ]"
- Sending one letter to three companies. → One Letter, Three Credit Bureaus
- Filing the same message as thousands of others. → The Same Identity-Theft Message, Filed 33 Times From 21 Places
- Leaving out the details a handler needs. Compare the specific cases we documented, such as A Customer Says Bank of America Approved a $3,400 Fraud Refund, Then Reversed Its Decision.
Using a Generator Without Becoming a Template
Our generators give you structure: the right order, the right headings, and the details to collect. They are a starting point. Before you send, replace every generic sentence with your own facts, and check that no placeholder is left.
- Bank Complaint Letter Generator
- Bank Fee Refund Request Generator
- Credit Report Dispute Letter Generator (FCRA)
- Debt Collection Dispute Letter Generator
- Checklists: Credit Report Error, Debt Collection Response, Unauthorized Transaction & Banking Fraud
FAQ
How long does a CFPB complaint take to submit?
The CFPB says online submission usually takes less than 10 minutes and phone submission 25 to 30 minutes. Phone: (855) 411-2372, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, except federal holidays.
How long does the company have to respond?
According to the CFPB, companies generally respond in 15 days; in some cases they say the response is in progress and give a final response in 60 days.
Can I file a second complaint about the same problem?
The CFPB says you generally can't, so include everything in the first complaint.
Should I use a template?
In our data, template complaints and original complaints differ in outcomes, but this is a correlation, not proof of cause. Use a template for structure and replace it with your own facts.
Limits
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Process details come from the CFPB's website and can change. Our analysis covers complaints up to 14 August 2026, when the CFPB stopped publishing new narratives; the findings describe the database, not a guarantee about any future complaint.