Consumer Resources
Since 2004, the Consumer Resources Section has served as the clearinghouse for consumer complaints filed against financial institutions regulated by the Department of Financial Institutions. During this time, we have served over 7800 consumers from Tennessee and across the country on issues ranging from checking accounts, flexible credit loans, mortgage loan refinances, and title pledge transactions.
In order to begin the consumer complaint process with the Department, we must have a formal complaint, submitted in writing. A consumer complaint provides the Department the authorization to view the complainant's account information with the financial institution involved. The easiest way to file your complaint is by using our complaint form at: https://first.tn.gov/Complaints/UI/Defaulta.aspx During the entry of your online form, you will have the opportunity to add pertinent documentation to the complaint form, in order to support the issues occurring in your encounter with the financial institution. (Important: The online consumer complaint form will time the user out, if the online submission is not completed within approximately 10 minutes. If you have a lengthy narrative to describe the allegations, it's suggested to prepare that in another format that can be cut and pasted into the online complaint form.)
As a footnote, we cannot do the following on behalf of a complainant:
1. Act as an attorney or a court of law
2. Provide legal advice
3. Become involved in complaints that are in active litigation, or those which have been adjudicated through the court process
What if the financial institution I have a consumer complaint against is not regulated by the Department of Financial Institutions?
Not every financial institution operating in Tennessee is regulated by the Department of Financial Institutions. There are a number of federally-chartered institutions, along with those regulated by other states, which have operations within our state. In these situations, you are welcome to submit a formal consumer complaint to our department, which would be forwarded to the appropriate regulatory authority.
For those institutions chartered as national banks, or federal savings banks, the primary federal regulator who can assist you in these complaint matters is the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC. (For example, First Tennessee Bank and Bank of America are national banks)
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3710
Houston, TX 77010
(P) 800-613-6743
(E) customer.assistance@occ.treas.gov
Online consumer complaint form link: https://appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, was created out of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation that was passed and signed into law in 2010. The CFPB provides a single point of accountability for enforcing federal consumer financial laws and protecting consumers in the financial marketplace. Before, that responsibility was divided among several agencies.
The CFPB also has oversight responsibilities for large financial corporations that have in excess of $10 billion in outstanding assets.
The following is the contact information for the CFPB:
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
PO Box 27170
Washington, DC 20038
(P) (855) 411-2372
Online consumer complaint form link: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
In the situation where you may be uncertain on whether a banking institution is federally-chartered or state-chartered, you can utilize the FDIC Institution Directory for assistance in determining how the bank is chartered and who the appropriate regulator may be. The chartering state regulator is typically determined by the headquarters location of the institution, which will be shown in the information from the Institution Directory. Additionally, the Institution Class helps provide information about the bank. State-chartered banking institutions are co-regulated with the FDIC.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Consumer Response Center
1100 Walnut Street, Box #11
Kansas City, MO 64106
P) 877-275-3342
www.fdic.gov
Institution Directory: https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind
Federally-chartered credit unions are regulated at the national level by the National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA. They can be contacted at the following:
National Credit Union Administration
Consumer Assistance
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria,VA 22314-3428
www.ncua.gov
(P) 800-755-1030
(E) consumerassistance@ncua.gov
If your complaint involves possible Identity Theft issues, or you’ve become involved with what is viewed as a scam operation, you can report both of these type of instances to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC. In these situations, you would also want to report these to your local law enforcement officials. The contact information for the FTC is as follows:
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 2002
(P) 202-326-2222
www.ftc.gov
Complaints: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1
Farm Credit Administration If you have a mortgage loan on property that was originated, or is being serviced, by Farm Credit Services, any complaints would need to be directed to the Farm Credit Administration for assistance. The following is the contact information for the Farm Credit Administration:
1501 Farm Credit Drive
McLean, VA 22102-5090
(P) 703-883-4056
www.fca.gov
(E) info-line@fca.gov
In those situation where you learn that your mortgage loan was insured by, or the investor/owner of your loan is the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), more commonly known as Fannie Mae or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), more commonly known as Freddie Mac, complaints against either of these agencies would need to be directed to their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA. They can be contacted at the following:
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Ombudsman-Constitution Center
400 7th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
(P) 888-370-0869
www.fhfa.gov