CFPB Consumer Complaints Scraper

Here is one real result, with every field the actor returns (the consumerComplaintNarrative is trimmed with an ellipsis, every value real):

{
  "complaintId": "22409973",
  "company": "WELLS FARGO & COMPANY",
  "product": "Checking or savings account",
  "subProduct": "Checking account",
  "issue": "Managing an account",
  "subIssue": "Problem using a debit or ATM card",
  "state": "CA",
  "zipCode": "91342",
  "dateReceived": "2026-05-20T23:25:06.000Z",
  "dateSentToCompany": "2026-05-20T23:36:29.000Z",
  "submittedVia": "Web",
  "companyResponse": "Closed with explanation",
  "timelyResponse": true,
  "consumerDisputed": null,
  "companyPublicResponse": "Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response",
  "consumerConsentProvided": null,
  "tags": null,
  "hasNarrative": true,
  "consumerComplaintNarrative": "I am writing to formally request reconsideration of my denied debit card fraud claim. My Wells Fargo debit card was lost, and after that, more than nine unauthorized charges were made on my account totaling approximately {$490.00} ...",
  "url": "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/detail/22409973",
  "aiSummary": null,
  "aiCategories": null,
  "aiExtract": null,
  "source": "CFPB Consumer Complaint Database",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-14T07:13:07.297Z",
  "error": null
}

The most complete CFPB consumer complaints scraper available. It returns every field the US CFPB complaint database exposes for each record, including the company, product and sub-product, issue and sub-issue, company response, dispute outcome and the full consumer narrative, plus optional AI add-ons, and gives you six filters to target exactly the complaints you need.

📥 Input · 📤 Output · 💰 Pricing · ▶️ Examples

Table of contents

• What it does
• Quickstart
• Input reference
• Output reference
• Example output record
• Run via API and CLI
• Fetch results
• Billing and limits
• FAQ and troubleshooting

What it does

The actor queries the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) consumer complaint database, applies the filters you pass as input, and writes one normalized record per complaint to the run's dataset. Each record carries the complaint ID, company, product and sub-product, issue and sub-issue, US state and ZIP, date received and date sent to company, how it was submitted, the company response and public response, whether the response was timely, whether the consumer disputed it, and the free-text consumer narrative when one is published. Dates are returned as ISO timestamps and missing source values are returned as null. If no date window is set, the actor defaults to the last 180 days.

Optional AI add-ons (withAiSummary, withAiCategorize, withAiExtract) add a plain-English summary, a topic/sentiment/severity classification, and structured entities (amounts, dates, parties, products, alleged violations) per complaint. They apply only to complaints that include a narrative, and are charged only when they return usable output.

Quickstart

Open the actor, paste this into the input, and press Run. It returns six complaints matching "unauthorized charges", most relevant first.

{
  "searchTerm": "unauthorized charges",
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "maxComplaints": 6
}

Every input field is optional. Leave searchTerm empty to browse all complaints in the date window (default: last 180 days).

Input reference

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
maxComplaints	integer	no	10	Maximum complaints to collect (1 to 1000000).
searchTerm	string	no	(empty)	Full-text search across complaints, for example overdraft fee, identity theft, foreclosure.
company	string	no	(any)	Filter to one company. Must match the exact registered name, for example Experian Information Solutions Inc. or NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION.
product	enum	no	(any)	Filter to one financial product category, for example Debt collection, Credit card, Mortgage, Student loan.
state	string	no	(any)	Two-letter US state or territory code, for example CA, TX, NY.
dateReceivedMin	string	no	last 180 days	Only complaints received on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD).
dateReceivedMax	string	no	(none)	Only complaints received on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD).
sortBy	enum	no	newest	Order results. One of newest, oldest, relevance (use with a search keyword).
withAiSummary	boolean	no	false	AI plain-English narrative summary. Paid add-on, billed only on usable output.
withAiCategorize	boolean	no	false	AI classification (topics, sentiment, severity). Paid add-on, billed only on usable output.
withAiExtract	boolean	no	false	AI entity extraction (amounts, dates, parties, products, alleged violations). Paid add-on, billed only on usable output.

Output reference

One dataset item per complaint. Types: string, boolean, string[], object, or null when the source value is absent.

Field	Type	Description
complaintId	string	CFPB complaint ID.
company	string	Company the complaint is about.
product	string	Financial product category.
subProduct	string	Product sub-category, or null.
issue	string	Issue category.
subIssue	string	Issue sub-category, or null.
state	string	Two-letter US state / territory code, or null.
zipCode	string	ZIP code (may be masked as XXX), or null.
dateReceived	string	Date the CFPB received the complaint (ISO).
dateSentToCompany	string	Date the complaint was sent to the company (ISO).
submittedVia	string	How the complaint was submitted, for example Web, Phone.
companyResponse	string	Company response, for example Closed with explanation.
timelyResponse	boolean	Whether the company responded on time.
consumerDisputed	boolean	Whether the consumer disputed the response, or null.
companyPublicResponse	string	Company's optional public response, or null.
consumerConsentProvided	string	Consent status for the narrative, or null.
tags	string[]	CFPB tags (for example Servicemember, Older American), or null.
hasNarrative	boolean	Whether a consumer narrative is present.
consumerComplaintNarrative	string	The free-text consumer narrative (personal data redacted by the CFPB as XXXX), or null.
url	string	CFPB detail page URL for the complaint.
aiSummary	string	AI narrative summary, or null unless withAiSummary is on.
aiCategories	object	AI {categories, sentiment, severity}, or null unless withAiCategorize is on.
aiExtract	object	AI {amounts, dates, parties, products, allegedViolations}, or null unless withAiExtract is on.
source	string	Data source. CFPB Consumer Complaint Database.
observedAt	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was collected.
error	string	null on success. On a failed run, a single item with a populated error field is written instead.

Example output record

Real record from a live run (input {"searchTerm":"unauthorized charges","maxComplaints":6,"sortBy":"relevance","withAiSummary":true,"withAiCategorize":true,"withAiExtract":true}). The AI fields are populated because this run enabled them, and the narrative is trimmed with an ellipsis:

{
  "complaintId": "22409973",
  "company": "WELLS FARGO & COMPANY",
  "product": "Checking or savings account",
  "subProduct": "Checking account",
  "issue": "Managing an account",
  "subIssue": "Problem using a debit or ATM card",
  "state": "CA",
  "zipCode": "91342",
  "dateReceived": "2026-05-20T23:25:06.000Z",
  "dateSentToCompany": "2026-05-20T23:36:29.000Z",
  "submittedVia": "Web",
  "companyResponse": "Closed with explanation",
  "timelyResponse": true,
  "companyPublicResponse": "Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response",
  "hasNarrative": true,
  "consumerComplaintNarrative": "I am writing to formally request reconsideration of my denied debit card fraud claim. My Wells Fargo debit card was lost, and after that, more than nine unauthorized charges were made ...",
  "url": "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/detail/22409973",
  "aiSummary": "The consumer is requesting Wells Fargo to reconsider their denied debit card fraud claim after their lost card was used for unauthorized charges totaling approximately $490.",
  "aiCategories": {"categories": ["fraud", "customer service"], "sentiment": "negative", "severity": "high"},
  "aiExtract": {
    "amounts": [490, 43, 65, 4, 58, 85, 77, 26, 66, 19, 28, 22],
    "dates": [],
    "parties": ["WELLS FARGO & COMPANY"],
    "products": ["Checking or savings account", "Checking account"],
    "allegedViolations": ["Unauthorized charges"]
  },
  "source": "CFPB Consumer Complaint Database",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-14T07:13:07.297Z"
}

Run via API and CLI

Start a run and wait for it to finish, then read the dataset. Replace <TOKEN> with your Apify API token.

Run synchronously and get dataset items in one call:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~cfpb-complaints-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchTerm":"overdraft fee","product":"Checking or savings account","state":"CA","maxComplaints":25}'

Start a run asynchronously:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~cfpb-complaints-scraper/runs?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"company":"NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION","dateReceivedMin":"2026-01-01","sortBy":"newest","maxComplaints":200}'

Apify CLI:

apify call scrapers_lat/cfpb-complaints-scraper \
  --input '{"product":"Debt collection","maxComplaints":50}'

Fetch results

Every run writes to a dataset. Fetch items as JSON, CSV, or Excel by changing format:

# JSON
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=json"

# CSV
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=csv"

# Paginate large datasets
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&offset=1000&limit=1000"

<DATASET_ID> is returned as defaultDatasetId in the run object. Use offset and limit to page through large result sets. clean=true drops empty and internal fields.

Billing and limits

• Pay per result. You are charged per complaint record returned (result event). See the pricing tab for the current per-result price.
• AI add-ons are billed separately. withAiSummary, withAiCategorize and withAiExtract each charge only when they return usable output on a complaint with a narrative, and are available to paying users.
• No charge on failure. If a run errors, the actor writes a single item with a populated error field and does not charge for it. Empty runs cost nothing.
• Spend cap respected. Set maxTotalChargeUsd on the run; once reached, the actor stops emitting and charging further billable results.
• Free Apify plans are capped at 10 records per run. Upgrade for higher maxComplaints.

FAQ and troubleshooting

Why is personal data replaced with XXXX? The CFPB redacts personal information in published narratives. The actor returns exactly what the CFPB publishes; it does not add or reconstruct redacted data.

Why do some complaints have no narrative? A narrative is published only when the consumer consents. hasNarrative tells you which records include one, and the AI add-ons apply only to those.

How do I filter to one company? Set company to the exact registered name as stored in the database, for example Experian Information Solutions Inc..

A run returned 0 records. Why? The filter combination matched nothing in the date window. Widen the date range, remove state or product, or check the company name spelling. Zero-result runs are not charged.

Which date does the window apply to? The date the CFPB received the complaint (dateReceived). If no window is set, it defaults to the last 180 days.

Is this an official CFPB tool? No. This actor is independent and has no affiliation with the CFPB. It reads only data that is publicly available through the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database. Use the results in accordance with the source's terms.

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Independent tool, not affiliated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Accesses only publicly available complaint data. Use in accordance with the source's terms.