If you don't think banks, lenders and other financial institutions are treating you fairly, you now have the power to notify the government about it and potentially make some changes.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will now let you submit a petition directly to the agency. With that petition, you can request the agency to consider a new rule on a financial issue, amend an existing rule or repeal one.
"I do think it's important that people know that this isn't a petition that they have to collect signatures for," Whitney Barkley with the Center for Responsible Lending said. "This is a petition in a legal sense, where they can basically write a letter to the department laying out why they think the product is predatory and should be investigated."
Before this change, you could comment on proposed financial rules. This left some worried they would need a high priced attorney or lobbyist for their concerns to be heard.
The change is also supposed to give more transparency to what lobbyists are doing, as they're required to go through the same petition process as everyone else.
"What we're really talking about here is what's called the revolving door right where people who have worked in government, then go to work for companies that are regulated by the government and, and so this will go," Mike Litt with U.S. PIRG said. "This is a great step towards giving more power to the consumer."
Consumer advocates are hoping the change will lead to new or revised rules around issues including overdraft fees, payday loans and credit reporting mistakes. All of these issues grew worse during the pandemic.
You can submit a petition by emailing petitions@cfpb.gov.
You can see petitions already submitted HERE.
