# CFPB Consumer Complaints Search (`agentictools/consumer-complaints-cfpb`) Actor

Search the CFPB consumer complaint database by company, product, issue, or full text. Narratives, company responses, and outcomes.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/agentictools/consumer-complaints-cfpb.md
- **Developed by:** [Ken Agland](https://apify.com/agentictools) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 complaint returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## CFPB Consumer Complaints Search

Search the CFPB consumer complaint database by company, product, issue, or full text. Narratives, company responses, and outcomes.

### What it does

- Full-text search across millions of consumer complaints filed with the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Filter by company, product category, state, and a received-date floor.
- Returns the consumer narrative (when published), the company response, timeliness, and a link to the official complaint page.
- Exports flat records to a dataset plus a run summary (total matches, per-company breakdown) in OUTPUT.

At least one of `searchTerm`, `company`, `product`, or `state` is required.

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `searchTerm` | string | Full-text search across complaint narratives and fields (for example "wire transfer fraud"). |
| `company` | string | Exact company name as stored in the database (for example "WELLS FARGO & COMPANY"). |
| `product` | string | Product category (for example "Checking or savings account", "Mortgage"). |
| `state` | string | Two-letter US state or territory code (for example "CA"). |
| `dateFrom` | string | Only complaints received on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). |
| `maxItems` | integer | How many complaints to return (auto-paginated, max 1000). Default 50. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "searchTerm": "wire transfer fraud",
  "state": "CA",
  "dateFrom": "2025-01-01",
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

### Output

Each dataset item is one complaint:

```json
{
  "complaintId": "23275462",
  "dateReceived": "2026-06-16",
  "product": "Checking or savings account",
  "subProduct": "Checking account",
  "issue": "Managing an account",
  "subIssue": "Problem making or receiving payments",
  "company": "UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION",
  "state": "KS",
  "zip": "665XX",
  "narrative": "i was scammed and received a fraudulent check which i mobile deposited [...] i sent a detailed spreadsheet to usaa which has every transaction i made to this scam, i lost over XXXX $ last year to this i would like someone that is willing to help me recover from this",
  "companyResponse": "Closed with explanation",
  "publicResponse": "Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response",
  "timely": "Yes",
  "disputed": null,
  "submittedVia": "Web",
  "url": "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/detail/23275462"
}
```

Notes on fields:

- `narrative` is the consumer's own account. It is null when the consumer did not consent to publication. Dollar amounts and dates inside narratives are masked by the CFPB (for example "{$35.00}", "XX/XX/XXXX").
- `disputed` reflects the CFPB's consumer dispute flag. The Bureau stopped collecting dispute data in April 2017, so this is null for current complaints.

The run's key-value store record `OUTPUT` holds a summary: total matches, items returned, how many had narratives, and a per-company breakdown.

### Pricing

Pay per result, plus standard Apify platform usage.

### Data source

Official CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Search API (`https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/search/api/v1/`). No API key required. The API pages at 100 results per request and can return at most the first 10,000 matches of a query, so narrow filters (company, state, date) reach deeper into the data. Complaints are published after the company responds or after 15 days, whichever comes first.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerm` (type: `string`):

Full-text search across complaint narratives and fields (for example "wire transfer fraud", "credit report error", "loan modification").

## `company` (type: `string`):

Filter by company name as it appears in the database (for example "WELLS FARGO & COMPANY", "EQUIFAX, INC."). Matching is exact on the company field.

## `product` (type: `string`):

Filter by product category (for example "Checking or savings account", "Mortgage", "Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports").

## `state` (type: `string`):

Two-letter US state or territory code (for example "CA", "NY", "TX").

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Only include complaints received on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Leave empty for no date floor.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many complaints to return. Results are paginated automatically until this count is reached or there are no more matches.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerm": "unauthorized charges",
  "company": "WELLS FARGO & COMPANY",
  "product": "Checking or savings account",
  "state": "CA",
  "dateFrom": "2025-01-01",
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchTerm": "wire transfer fraud"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("agentictools/consumer-complaints-cfpb").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchTerm": "wire transfer fraud" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("agentictools/consumer-complaints-cfpb").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchTerm": "wire transfer fraud"
}' |
apify call agentictools/consumer-complaints-cfpb --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=agentictools/consumer-complaints-cfpb",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/rkWYkdbi0gjMYLvQL/builds/AkdpYmNCSkKsBs1Rj/openapi.json