Data Methodology

Data Sources

PlainCredit draws from two official government sources:

• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's public dataset of consumer complaints filed against financial companies. Contains 14+ million complaints since 2011, covering credit reporting, debt collection, mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and more.
• Federal Reserve G.19 Statistical Release: The Federal Reserve's consumer credit data, providing commercial bank credit card interest rate averages over time.

Data Vintage

The CFPB updates its complaint database daily. PlainCredit refreshes periodically to include the latest complaints. Federal Reserve G.19 interest rate data is updated quarterly. Our current database reflects CFPB data through early 2026 and Fed rate data through the most recent available quarter. The CFPB database has grown significantly since its launch in 2011, now containing over 14 million complaints. This volume enables meaningful statistical analysis of company response patterns and complaint trends, though early years have lower complaint volumes due to the system being newer and less well-known to consumers.

Processing Pipeline

1. The full CFPB complaint dataset is downloaded from the CFPB public data API.
2. Complaints are aggregated by company, product category, state, and year.
3. Company response metrics are computed: timely response rate, consumer dispute rate, and complaint volume trend.
4. Companies with fewer than 10 complaints are excluded to avoid misleading profiles for very small companies or one-time complainants.
5. No individual complaint narratives are modified. Data is presented as submitted to the CFPB.
6. Federal Reserve G.19 rate time series are loaded separately and displayed as published.
7. All data is loaded into a structured SQLite database serving company profiles, state pages, and trend charts.

Coverage

• Companies covered: 3,800+ financial companies with 10+ complaints
• Total complaints: 14+ million since 2011
• Products: Credit reporting, debt collection, mortgages, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, checking/savings
• Geographies: All 50 states plus D.C. and territories

How the Source Agencies Collect Data

The CFPB Consumer Complaint Database collects complaints submitted by consumers through the CFPB website, phone, mail, or fax. Each complaint is forwarded to the named company for response. The CFPB publishes complaint records after the company responds or after 15 calendar days, including the product type, issue description, company response type, and whether the consumer disputed the response. Individual complaint narratives are published only with consumer consent.

The Federal Reserve G.19 Statistical Release on Consumer Credit is compiled from surveys of commercial banks, finance companies, credit unions, and other financial institutions. Interest rate data reflects the average rates charged on credit card accounts across surveyed institutions, published quarterly.

Data Accuracy Commitment

PlainCredit presents CFPB and Federal Reserve data without modification. Complaint counts, response metrics, and interest rate time series are computed directly from the published source data. We do not editorialize about company quality beyond what the data directly shows. If you find any data that appears incorrect, please contact us at hello@plaincredit.com and we will verify against the source records.

Limitations

• Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. The CFPB does not independently verify all facts in individual complaints.
• Complaint volume depends partly on company size — large financial institutions naturally receive more complaints than small ones regardless of service quality.
• Companies with fewer than 10 complaints are excluded; very small or new companies may not appear.
• PlainCredit is not affiliated with the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, or any government agency.