CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile

Great Lakes

Behind the 1,574 CFPB complaints on file for this company is a data trail showing how it typically handles credit, billing and collection disputes.

Data updated 2026-08-14

1,574
Total complaints
Among the highest
0
Last 12 months
99%
Timely response
Above median
54
States affected

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The verdict

Among 3,843 financial companies tracked by CFPB complaint volume, Great Lakes sits at #249, with 1,574 complaints logged. It posts a 99% on-time response rate, the 60th percentile among companies with 100+ complaints.

#249
of 3,843 companies by volume
99%
on time (60th pctile)
Student loan
most-complained product
54
states with complaints
C
PlainCredit Trust Score
56/100
Great Lakes · 3 of 3 dimensions reported

Based on this company's own CFPB response record -- timely response, dispute rate, and relief rate, each benchmarked against every tracked company with 10+ complaints. Not a measure of product quality, pricing, or company size.

Timely Response B 99.0%
Share of complaints answered within the CFPB response window
Dispute Rate C 13.9%
Share of responses the consumer disputed (lower is better)
Relief Rate F 0.6%
Share of complaints closed with monetary or non-monetary relief

Great Lakes vs. all companies by on-time response rate

Every company with 100+ CFPB complaints on file (1,335 total)

99% Higher than most higher than 60% of 1,335 companies

companies with 100+ CFPB complaints, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more companies. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database · 2026-08-14

What changed

CFPB Consumer Complaint Database 2018 to 2019 complete years

  • Annual CFPB complaint volume moved from 386 in 2018 to 284 in 2019 (2018 → 2019).

See the full year-over-year release diff

Great Lakes timely response rate 99.0%
Industry benchmark

Percent of CFPB complaints answered within the regulator's expected window. Industry benchmark sits at 95%.

Reading this profile

Complaints by Product

Student loan - Federal student loan servicing 993
Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports - Credit reporting 184
Student loan - Non-federal student loan 113
Student loan - Private student loan 80
Debt collection - Federal student loan debt 80
Debt collection - Federal student loan 39
Debt collection - Private student loan debt 19
Debt collection - I do not know 18
Debt collection - Non-federal student loan 16
Debt collection - Other debt 8

Top Issues

1.Dealing with your lender or servicer 442
2.Dealing with my lender or servicer 365
3.Struggling to repay your loan 166
4.Incorrect information on your report 158
5.Can't repay my loan 132
6.Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem 62
7.Attempts to collect debt not owed 46
8.Written notification about debt 32
9.False statements or representation 28
10.Disclosure verification of debt 22

Complaints by Year

Year Complaints
2012 6
2013 14
2014 33
2015 22
2016 330
2017 499
2018 386
2019 284

Complaints by State (Top 15)

California 169
Florida 117
Texas 103
New York 98
Ohio 79
Illinois 70
Michigan 63
Georgia 62
Pennsylvania 58
Virginia 53
North Carolina 45
New Jersey 44
Arizona 40
Washington 40
Maryland 34

Company Responses

Closed with explanation 1,564
Closed with non-monetary relief 6
Closed with monetary relief 2
Closed with relief 1
Closed without relief 1

What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Great Lakes

The CFPB Consumer Complaint Database has logged 1,574 complaints against Great Lakes overall, with 0 of those filed in the trailing 12 months. Reports have come from consumers in 54 states and territories, making this a nationwide complaint footprint. The single largest complaint category is "Student loan," which consistently leads the product-level breakdown and signals where consumer friction is most acute. The specific issue named most within that category is "Dealing with your lender or servicer," a reasonable starting point for understanding recurring friction.

Within the Bureau's 15-day response window, Great Lakes posts a 99% reply rate on forwarded complaints. That figure is at or above the industry benchmark and suggests the company's intake and escalation processes are functioning as designed. Resolved cases drew a formal consumer-dispute rate of 13.9% - a rough measure of how often the first resolution missed the mark. Among resolved complaints, the consumer-relief closure rate is 0.6%.

How to read complaint counts

Complaint counts alone do not tell the full story: larger institutions with more customers will naturally generate more complaints in absolute terms. The more informative signals are the direction of the yearly trend shown above, the state-level concentration, and the ratio of monetary-relief closures to closed-without-relief outcomes. Together, these fields provide context for reading the published CFPB record; they do not establish wrongdoing or resolve an individual dispute.

Educational data summary, not financial or legal advice. Individual complaint outcomes vary. Consumers should consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor for guidance on a specific dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CFPB complaints does Great Lakes have?

Great Lakes has 1,574 total consumer complaints filed with the CFPB, with 0 filed in the last 12 months.

Does Great Lakes respond to complaints on time?

CFPB complaints against Great Lakes draw a 99% timely-response rate inside the expected window. That puts it among the more responsive companies in the CFPB dataset.

What product generates the most complaints for Great Lakes?

"Student loan" draws more CFPB complaints against Great Lakes than any other product - see the full breakdown above.

What is the most common complaint issue with Great Lakes?

"Dealing with your lender or servicer" is the single most frequently cited issue in complaints against Great Lakes - see all issues and counts above.

How do I file a complaint against Great Lakes?

You can file a complaint against Great Lakes directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.

In how many states have consumers complained about Great Lakes?

The CFPB has recorded complaints against Great Lakes from 54 separate states and territories, including jurisdictions beyond the 52 with a dedicated state page here - Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO military postal codes among them.

Nationwide companies with similar complaint volume or dispute rates

Two CFPB peer sets for Great Lakes: nearest financial companies by total complaint volume and by the share of complaints consumers mark as disputed. These are cross-firm neighborhoods, not the product-category list below.

Also handles Student loan

Other companies with the same primary CFPB product category on file.

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Data through March 2026