We Need a Bolder Solution to Consumer Education

http://www.insidearm.com/news/00020303-we-need-a-bolder-solution-to-consumer-edu/

Stephanie Eidelman

As I read the CFPB’s report on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), I had a thought about the importance of consumer education, but the futility of current efforts at it.

One of the initiatives the Bureau reports on is its Ask CFPB question database. It has 918 questions and answers about various consumer finance topics, including debt collection. And they report that there have been 187,000 unique visitors to the site… excuse me, to the section of their site (one has to find it) in approximately the last year.

Well, 187,000 unique visitors is indeed impressive in the world of websites. But compared with the 30 million Americans the CFPB says are currently subject to debt collection activities, it doesn’t make a dent.

You can read my additional thoughts on this topic in the latest post on the insideARM blog on Forbes.com.