# $BROKE · Debt collector complaints

Complaints about debt collection that people file with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, per week. Counted by Tickerz from the Bureau's public complaint database by the day each complaint was received. The week runs Sunday to Saturday. A complaint is published once the company answers or after 15 days, so a week prints three weeks after it ends and can still rise.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Newest complete period | Oct 17: 5,302 complaints, score 0, Quiet |
| Source | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, product Debt collection (https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/) |
| Terms | Public domain (CC0), as the database's own API states. |
| Cadence | Weekly, three weeks late. The database updates daily. |
| Grade | display |
| Rulebook | Rulebook v0.2, 2026-10-04 |
| Linked tickers | $ECPG, $PRAA |

## Settlement

Why this grade: Counted in full from a public domain database, but a week keeps rising as late complaints are published, and anyone can file a complaint. Shown, not settled on.
What it costs to move: Cheap in small numbers: a complaint is a web form. Moving a week by much means filing them by the hundred, under a name, with a federal agency.
When the source is late: A week prints three weeks after it ends. If the database says its data is stale, the week stays open. A week that cannot be read is void.
Precision: Whole complaints received Sunday to Saturday, product Debt collection, as the database counts them on the day it is read.

## As first published, and the proof

Not on-chain yet. The newest complete period goes on-chain with the daily proof at 12:40 UTC.

## Last 30 complete periods

| Period | Level | Change | Band |
| --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| Oct 17 | 5,302 complaints | +5.3% | Quiet |
| Oct 10 | 5,035 complaints | -5.3% | Quiet |
| Oct 3 | 5,319 complaints | +7.5% | Quiet |
| Sep 26 | 4,949 complaints | -0.8% | Quiet |
| Sep 19 | 4,990 complaints | +8.1% | Quiet |
| Sep 12 | 4,618 complaints | -6.5% |  |
| Sep 5 | 4,941 complaints | -4.6% |  |
| Aug 29 | 5,179 complaints | +6.7% |  |
| Aug 22 | 4,852 complaints | -9.1% |  |
| Aug 15 | 5,339 complaints | +8.2% |  |
| Aug 8 | 4,935 complaints | -6.1% |  |
| Aug 1 | 5,255 complaints | -5.8% |  |
| Jul 25 | 5,576 complaints | -2.4% |  |
| Jul 18 | 5,714 complaints | +3.7% |  |
| Jul 11 | 5,508 complaints | -7.3% |  |
| Jul 4 | 5,941 complaints | -5.6% |  |
| Jun 27 | 6,294 complaints | -1.4% |  |
| Jun 20 | 6,383 complaints | -2.4% |  |
| Jun 13 | 6,543 complaints |  |  |

JSON: https://tickerz.com/api/indices/broke

## Asked often

**How many debt collection complaints does the CFPB get each week?** 5,302 complaints about debt collection were filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the week to Saturday Oct 17 2026, counted by Tickerz from the Bureau's public database. Late complaints can still raise the week.

**Where does the $BROKE number come from?** Tickerz reads it from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, product Debt collection. Weekly, three weeks late. The database updates daily. Each number is kept as it was first published, with a timestamped proof, and any later revision is shown beside it.

**Can I download the $BROKE data?** Yes, free and with no key: the full history as JSON at https://tickerz.com/api/indices/broke and every period as CSV at https://tickerz.com/api/indices/broke/history.csv.

## Name a number

Name a number you want counted. Within 48 hours it is a ticker, or you get the plain reason it cannot be built. POST https://tickerz.com/api/indices/requests with {"counts": "...", "source_url": "..."}, or the MCP tool name_a_number. Answers: https://tickerz.com/x#x-request

## For agents

- JSON API, no key: https://tickerz.com/docs (OpenAPI: https://tickerz.com/openapi.json)
- MCP server, Streamable HTTP, no key: https://tickerz.com/mcp
- Site summary: https://tickerz.com/llms.txt (everything in one file: https://tickerz.com/llms-full.txt; agent instructions: https://tickerz.com/agents.md)
- Signed numbers, every feed and The Tape: https://oracle.tickerz.com (each signed number with its recount: https://tickerz.com/signed)
- Plain answers about prediction market data: https://tickerz.com/answers
- Any page here in Markdown: send Accept: text/markdown, or open /md/<path>.

The Activity score says how unusual trading is, not whether an asset is good. It is not a price signal: whether it predicts returns is measured live at https://tickerz.com/evidence. Not advice.