An Early Holiday Gift from Uncle Sam

The new Federal Reserve Consumer Help Web site and toll-free phone lines are now open for business! They consolidate and streamline the Fed’s previous consumer complaint and info programs, and will make it much easier for anyone who has a problem with a bank or other financial institution to click or call for prompt help in the following areas:

• Checking accounts
• Consumer credit
• Consumer protection laws
• Credit reports
• Deposit insurance
• Electronic banking
• Home mortgages
• Small business

The Fed says: “If you have a problem with a bank or other financial institution, contact the Federal Reserve for help. … The Federal Reserve is committed to safeguarding consumer rights in financial services.  Key to this commitment is hearing from the public about their concerns and the issues they are facing.”

I say, “Bring it on!”

The Fed is responsible making sure lenders comply with the various consumer protection and fair lending laws – for example, those pertaining to credit cards, bank accounts, and mortgages. The Fed is also responsible for making many of the rules and regulations that lenders have to follow. So the more they hear about the problems we are having with financial institutions, the more likely it is that they will look into the issues we raise (for example, that universal default is unfair) and/or change the regs to make them more consumer friendly (for example, that universal default should be nixed).

Unfortunately, the Fed, which is technically known as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, is incredibly complicated. It is government after all, so that might not be a surprise to you – unless you’ve ever had a complaint about a bank that you tried to get government help resolving – or you’re a reporter trying to research a story.

There are five separate branches of the Fed! Consumers no longer have to know which of these federal regulators “supervises the bank that they are concerned about in order to file a complaint or inquiry. Federal Reserve Consumer Help will direct consumers to the appropriate regulator and has made arrangements with several other banking regulators to transfer callers directly to another representative at the appropriate agency.”

Oy! See what I mean? It’s a plus that we can now easily file a complaint or ask a question online, and let the Feds figure out who has to do what behind the scenes. Prefer to call? A real, live “customer service professional” will be available to help between 8 AM and 6 PM Central Time, toll-free at: 888-851-1920.

By the way, there are many useful government publications that you can access through the site, in both English and Spanish, including the latest version of "How to File a Consumer Complaint Against a Bank."

If you do visit the site, file a complaint against a bank, or submit a suggestion, please let us know how you make out!

Nancy Castleman – Co-author of "Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life" and founder of Good Advice Press. Nancy has spent the last 23 years teaching people how to get out of debt, save money, and live better on less. She writes on all these subjects for CreditBloggers.com.

Comments

[AJ]

This is good information and I am glad to hear it. However your title seems strange. Uncle Sam is a nickname for the U.S.A. Government and The Federal Reserve is a private company that is not part of the government.