Who is complaining aboutAdvertising and marketing?
When looking at complaint volume about a company or product, consider company size and/or market share. For example, companies with more customers may have more complaints than companies with fewer customers.
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database. A complaint is a consumer's account of a problem; it is not a finding against the company.
“Advertising and marketing” is an issue label the CFPB no longer offers on its complaint form. 2,959 complaints carry it, received between 1 Dec 2011 and 21 Apr 2017.
Most were filed under the product “Credit card” (98.9%).
Which products
| Product (CFPB label) | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card | 2,926 | 98.9% |
| Other financial service | 33 | 1.1% |
Which companies, with their size
Ordered by the number of complaints carrying this issue since 2011.
| Company (as named by the CFPB) | Complaints, all years | Share | Company size |
|---|---|---|---|
| CITIBANK, N.A. | 493 | 16.7% | $1.98tn assets |
| AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY | 443 | 15% | $214bn assets |
| JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 410 | 13.9% | $4.09tn assets |
| CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 364 | 12.3% | $662bn assets |
| BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | 189 | 6.4% | $2.65tn assets |
| U.S. BANCORP | 187 | 6.3% | $706bn assets |
| DISCOVER BANK | 179 | 6% | no public measure |
| SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL | 165 | 5.6% | $115bn assets |
| BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE | 158 | 5.3% | $43bn assets |
| WELLS FARGO & COMPANY | 104 | 3.5% | $1.92tn assets |
| TD BANK US HOLDING COMPANY | 34 | 1.1% | $375bn assets |
| Paypal Holdings, Inc | 26 | 0.9% | no public measure |
| PNC Bank N.A. | 23 | 0.8% | $610bn assets |
| UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION | 20 | 0.7% | $106bn assets |
| FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF OMAHA | 15 | 0.5% | $34bn assets |
| FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 12 | 0.4% | $299bn assets |
| SUNTRUST BANKS, INC. | 7 | 0.2% | no public measure |
| CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. | 7 | 0.2% | $233bn assets |
| PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION | 6 | 0.2% | $29bn assets |
| NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION | 6 | 0.2% | $204bn assets |
| Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. | 6 | 0.2% | $21bn assets |
| BBVA FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 5 | 0.2% | no public measure |
| REGIONS FINANCIAL CORPORATION | 5 | 0.2% | $160bn assets |
| SANTANDER BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | 4 | 0.1% | $104bn assets |
| STERLING JEWELERS, INC. | 3 | 0.1% | no public measure |
| All other companies, including those not listed by name | 88 | 3% | — |
CFPB: “When looking at complaint volume about a company or product, consider company size and/or market share. For example, companies with more customers may have more complaints than companies with fewer customers.” The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it. 20 of the 25 companies in this table have a public size measure. “No public measure” means the company could not be matched by name to a single institution in the FDIC, NCUA or HMDA files, not that it is small.
How companies responded
- Closed with explanation1,885 · 63.7%
- Closed with non-monetary relief576 · 19.5%
- Closed with monetary relief371 · 12.5%
- Closed without relief78 · 2.6%
- All other categories49 · 1.7%
| Measure | This issue | All issues |
|---|---|---|
| Closed with monetary or non-monetary relief | 33.1% | 31.6% |
| Closed with monetary relief | 12.5% | 0.5% |
| Responses marked timely | 99.1% | 99.6% |
Trend
Questions and answers
What does the CFPB issue “Advertising and marketing” mean?
It is one of the options a consumer selects on the CFPB complaint form to describe the problem. The label is the consumer's choice and is not checked by the Bureau.
How many complaints carry this issue?
2,959, all received before 21 Apr 2017; the label is no longer offered.
Which products does it apply to?
“Credit card” (98.9%), “Other financial service” (1.1%).
Does the CFPB verify complaints?
The CFPB does not verify every allegation in a complaint before publishing it. Counts on this page show what consumers reported, not what was found.
Provenance
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, bulk file downloaded 30 Sep 2026, complaints received through 30 Sep 2026. Only coded fields are used (company, product, sub-product, issue, state, dates, company response, timeliness); complaint narratives are never read, stored or shown. Complaints are published once the company responds or after 15 days, so the most recent two to three weeks are incomplete. Size measures: FDIC BankFind (report date 30 Jun 2026), NCUA call reports (30 Jun 2026), HMDA transmittal sheet (2025), Census Bureau population estimates (2025). All are US government works. Search the CFPB database · Methodology · Report an error.