Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America both threw their support behind Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY]’s “Financial Consumer Hotline Act of 2007,” a proposal to establish a single national hotline where consumers can file complaints against any financial institution. Currently there are five different federal agencies who regulate the banking industry, each with its own system for collecting and addressing complaints.

“To most consumers, a bank is a bank,” said Jeannine Kenney, Senior Policy Analyst for Consumers Union. “Consumers should not need to wind though a byzantine maze of federal regulators in order to get the help they need. When it is too hard to complain, not only are consumers left without recourse, but regulators don’t get a clear picture about what is going wrong in the marketplace,” added Kenney.

The bill is currently stuck in committee.

“Consumer Groups Call for One-stop Complaint System for Reporting Banking Problems” [Kanas City infoZine]

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