Complaints.gov: Missing Infrastructure in America's Consumer Protection and Corporate Accountability System

Like many people trying to start families, MK and her husband thought they did everything right. When they realized having a baby on their own would be challenging, they made a plan with their doctor and specifically shopped for health insurance that would cover IVF. It wasn’t until they were locked into that new insurance plan that they were told yes, it would “cover IVF,” but it wouldn’t cover the tens of thousands of dollars of drugs that were needed for IVF to work.

They were devastated, and the insurance company was stonewalling them, and sending them into never-ending loops. At the time, they had no idea that the Maryland Insurance Administrator not only took consumer complaints, would force the insurance company to cough up the coverage they promised, and would fix the issue for other Marylanders, but that they’d already paid for the service for years with their state taxes.

This story isn’t unusual. Every day, Americans struggle with insurance denials based on faulty algorithms, hijacked business accounts, and scams on social media. They spend hours trapped in chatbot loops and on hold, trying to reach someone, anyone, who can actually help. Most give up, left with the impression that no one is listening and no one cares.

Here’s what they don’t know: help often already exists.

Top-tier attorneys, investigators, and consumer advocates work for state insurance commissioners, Attorneys General, and, yes, still at federal agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I know because I’ve worked with them. I helped build complaint systems at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the CFPB, and I’ve seen firsthand how these systems can get companies to provide straight answers and real solutions. The CFPB’s complaint system alone has helped more than 12 million people get answers and returned hundreds of millions of dollars to Americans.

The problem? Almost no one knows these resources exist, and the system for accessing them is a disaster.

In the United States, there are at least 176 different government agencies that accept consumer complaints. Each has its own form, its own jurisdictional quirks, and its own siloed system. Figuring out where to go is like solving a jigsaw puzzle where the picture is described in scattered legislative text spanning hundreds of years.

Got tricked by a shady credit offer? That’s the CFPB. Insurance company screwed you over? Maybe your state insurance commissioner… if you have the right kind of employer. Ripped off by a gig work platform? Could be your state Attorney General, or maybe the U.S. Department of Labor.

And here’s the kicker: only ONE of those 176 agencies — the CFPB — has a public complaint database or any way for companies to systematically respond to complainants. Even well-funded systems like the Federal Trade Commission’s don’t make it clear that neither the agency nor the companies will respond to complaints submitted there. File your complaint and it disappears into a black hole.

My proposal: Complaints.gov

Complaints.gov wouldn’t be a new agency. It’s infrastructure that connects people to the accountability systems we’ve already built and paid for.

Here’s how it would work:

A simple complaint form that routes your issue to the right agency and company for response, no matter where you start. Whether the place that could help you is your state AG, a city consumer protection office, or the investigator general of a federal agency — there’s no wrong door to get to them.

Company responses within 15 days. Companies would have 15 days to engage with your complaint and explain what they’re doing about it.

A public database of complaints (with redactions for privacy), including what happened in the consumer’s own words and how and when the company responded. You could see which companies play by the rules before you hand them your money.

Modern tools for regulators, so even small agencies can spot patterns, collaborate, and act before small harms become nationwide emergencies.

Why this matters now

AI systems have been inserted into life-altering decisions about credit, employment, insurance, and housing, often with zero transparency or clear methods of recourse. Automated customer service means when something goes wrong, there’s no clear way to reach a human who can help.

I’ve seen this firsthand in the complaint data. By 2023, the ten largest banks in the U.S. were using chatbots for customer service. While no complaint form specifically asked about “AI” problems, people were certainly having them. At the CFPB, we could search for the term “human” in complaint narratives and find sprawling horror stories, as in “I called 19 times and never got a human.”

A young mother denied an apartment with no explanation might think “that should be illegal.” It already is; the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires explanations and recourse. But if the landlord’s AI screening system can’t meet explainability standards and just says “the computer denied you,” she’s facing exactly the kind of dead end that lawmakers foresaw and outlawed. To exercise her rights, she’d need to know those protections exist, who to turn to, and what happens when she asks for help.

Right now, she probably has no idea.

The market case

This isn’t just good for consumers. It’s good for honest businesses.

When complaint data is public and accessible, companies that treat customers well can stand out. Consumers can comparison shop based on real performance, not just marketing, and businesses get structured, organized contact from regulators instead of scattered emails and calls from individual investigators.

The data shows complaint volume correlates with company size, so small businesses won’t face outsized burdens. But large companies that cut corners will face more scrutiny — exactly as they should.

What’s next

My proposal includes a detailed implementation plan that builds the system in phases, starting with simple routing and growing into full infrastructure.

Americans are facing a cost-of-living crisis. People don’t want the runaround from companies, they want accountability. We have the expertise and the systems. We have the people working in these agencies. What we need is the infrastructure to connect them.

Read my full proposal: Complaints.gov: Building a Modern Infrastructure for Accountability