The men and women who serve in America’s military are also active consumers in America’s financial marketplace, where tricks and traps can cause harm to their finances and their lives. An analysis of more than 44,000 complaints submitted by active duty servicemembers and military veterans to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and contained in its Consumer Complaint Database finds that mistreatment of servicemembers by financial companies is widespread. The stories told in these complaints reinforce the importance of the CFPB’s work to hold financial companies accountable for wrongdoing, to secure restitution for mistreated consumers, and to help servicemembers and veterans avoid mistreatment in the financial marketplace.
The CFPB provides an invaluable service to America’s men and women in uniform. Attempts to weaken or eliminate the CFPB could put those who protect our country in harm’s way, both while serving abroad and here at home, and even threaten national security. The Pentagon has found that financial abuses and credit reporting mistakes can cause service members to lose security clearances, resulting in lower unit preparedness.