83 FR 16839 - Request for Information Regarding the Bureau's Consumer Complaint and Consumer Inquiry Handling Processes

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 74 (April 17, 2018)

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist the Bureau in assessing its handling of consumer complaints and consumer inquiries and, consistent with law, considering whether changes to its processes would be appropriate.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16839-16841]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07943]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

[Docket No. CFPB-2018-0014]


Request for Information Regarding the Bureau's Consumer Complaint 
and Consumer Inquiry Handling Processes

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notice and request for information.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is 
seeking comments and information from interested parties to assist the 
Bureau in assessing its handling of consumer complaints and consumer 
inquiries and, consistent with law, considering whether changes to its 
processes would be appropriate.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit responsive information and other comments, 
identified by Docket No. CFPB-2018-0014, by any of the following 
methods:
     Electronic: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include Docket 
No. CFPB-2018-0014 in the subject line of the message.
     Mail: Comment Intake, Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Comment Intake, Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
    Instructions: The Bureau encourages the early submission of 
comments. All submissions must include the document title and docket 
number. Please note the number of the topic on which you are commenting 
at the top of each response (you do not need to address all topics). 
Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the Bureau is 
subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments 
electronically. In general, all comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov. In addition, comments 
will be available for public inspection and copying at 1700 G Street 
NW, Washington, DC 20552, on official business days between the hours 
of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can make an appointment to 
inspect the documents by telephoning 202-435-7275.
    All submissions in response to this request for information, 
including attachments and other supporting materials, will become part 
of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Proprietary 
information or sensitive personal information, such as account numbers 
or Social Security numbers, or names of other individuals, should not 
be included. Submissions will not be edited to remove any identifying 
or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darian Dorsey, Deputy Assistant 
Director, Office of Consumer Response, at 202-435-7268. If you require 
this document in an alternative electronic format, please contact 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An important aspect of the Bureau's mission 
is hearing directly from the American public about their experiences in 
the consumer financial marketplace. Pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 5511(c)(2), 
``collecting, investigating, and responding to consumer complaints'' is 
one of the six statutory ``primary functions'' of the Bureau. In 
addition, ensuring that ``consumers are provided with timely and 
understandable information to make responsible decisions about 
financial transactions'' is one of its six enumerated objectives.\1\
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1).
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    In furtherance of these statutory mandates, the Dodd-Frank Wall 
Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) requires the 
Bureau to establish a unit to ``facilitate the centralized collection 
of, monitoring of, and response to consumer complaints regarding 
consumer financial products or services'' \2\ and directs the Bureau to 
establish reasonable procedures to provide timely responses to consumer 
complaints and consumer inquiries.\3\ The Bureau defines consumer 
complaints as ``submissions that express dissatisfaction with, or 
communicate suspicion of wrongful conduct by, an identifiable entity 
related to a consumer's personal experience with a financial product or 
service.'' \4\ To date, the Bureau has not published its definition of 
consumer inquiries; however, as an operational matter for the purposes 
of establishing reasonable procedures for providing timely responses to 
consumer inquiries and for the purposes of this request for 
information, the Bureau defines consumer inquiries as consumer requests 
for information--typically proffered by telephone--to its Office of 
Consumer Response about consumer financial products or services, the 
status of a complaint, an action taken by the Bureau, and often 
combinations thereof.\5\
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    \2\ The Bureau's Office of Consumer Response (``Consumer 
Response'') serves these and other functions. 12 U.S.C. 
5493(b)(3)(A).
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 5534(a).
    \4\ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Response 
Annual Report (Mar. 2012), available at http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201204_cfpb_ConsumerResponseAnnualReport.pdf.
    \5\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1) authorizes the Bureau to ensure that, 
with respect to consumer financial products and services, 
``consumers are provided with timely and understandable information 
to make responsible decisions about financial transactions''; some 
of this work occurs in the consumer complaint and inquiry processes 
performed within the Office of Consumer Response.
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    Since it began accepting consumer complaints and consumer inquiries 
in July 2011, the Bureau has established reasonable procedures to 
provide consumers with timely responses to their complaints and 
inquiries, in writing where appropriate.\6\ To date, the Bureau has 
received more than 1.5 million consumer complaints. The consumer 
complaint process seeks to provide consumers with timely responses to 
their complaints, while the consumer inquiry process aims to provide 
timely answers to consumers who submit inquiries. Both processes 
support the Bureau's statutory objective to provide consumers with 
timely and understandable information about consumer financial products 
and services to make responsible decisions. To that end, the Bureau has 
established reasonable procedures for responding to both consumer 
complaints and consumer inquiries.
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    \6\ 12 U.S.C. 5534(a).
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    Though the Bureau is required to establish reasonable procedures to 
provide timely responses to consumer complaints and consumer inquiries, 
certain aspects of the complaint and inquiry handling processes were 
developed in furtherance of those statutory requirements but are not 
directly mandated by statute. Mindful of the Bureau's statutory 
objective to provide consumers with timely and understandable 
information about consumer financial products and services so they can 
make responsible decisions, as well as its statutory obligations to (1) 
establish reasonable procedures to provide consumers with timely 
responses and (2) centralize the collection of consumer complaints 
about consumer financial products or

[[Page 16840]]

services, the Bureau has used feedback from a variety of stakeholders 
to establish and refine its processes over time to improve 
stakeholders' experience, handle large volumes of complaints and 
inquiries,\7\ and increase overall efficiency.
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    \7\ In 2017, the Bureau received more than 500,000 consumer 
complaints and consumer inquiries.
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    Consumer Complaint Process. To ``facilitate the centralized 
collection of, monitoring of, and response to consumer complaints 
regarding consumer financial products or services,'' the Bureau accepts 
complaints through its website; by referral from the White House, 
congressional offices, Federal agencies, and State agencies; and by 
telephone, mail, email, and fax. When consumers \8\ choose to submit 
complaints, the Bureau's complaint form prompts them to select the 
consumer financial product or service with which they have a problem as 
well as the type of problem they are having with that product or 
service. This provides information that can be used to group complaints 
to understand the financial products and services about which consumers 
complain to the Bureau. The complaint form also requires consumers to 
affirm that the information provided in their complaint is true to the 
best of their knowledge and belief. The Bureau routes complaints about 
consumer financial products and services directly to financial 
companies and works with them to get consumers a timely response from 
the company, generally within 15 days. Where appropriate, complaints 
are routed to other Federal agencies.\9\ The company reviews the 
information, communicates with the consumer as needed, and determines 
what action to take in response. The company then responds to the 
consumer and the Bureau in writing via the secure company portal, and 
the Bureau invites the consumer to review the company's response and 
provide feedback about the response received from the company. 
Consumers can log onto the secure consumer portal available on the 
Bureau's website or call the Bureau to receive status updates, provide 
additional information, and review responses provided by the company. 
In 2017, the Bureau handled more than 320,000 consumer complaints.\10\
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    \8\ The term `consumer' means an individual or an agent, 
trustee, or representative acting on behalf of an individual.'' 12 
U.S.C. 5481(4)
    \9\ The Bureau refers or sends complaints to another regulator 
when, for example, a particular complaint does not involve a product 
or service currently handled by the Bureau.
    \10\ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Response 
Annual Report (Apr. 2018), available at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/documents/6406/cfpb_consumer-response-annual-report_2017.pdf.
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    Consumer Inquiry Process. The Bureau's single, toll-free telephone 
number \11\ gives consumers the opportunity to ask questions about 
financial products or services, submit a complaint, and check the 
status of a complaint. Consumers can also inquire about the Bureau and 
a subset of its recent actions. When consumers call with an inquiry 
about consumer financial products or services, a Bureau representative 
collects basic information about the consumer, listens to the consumer 
describe their situation and question, and provides clear, unbiased 
educational information about financial products and services. 
Representatives do not provide legal advice to consumers, nor do they 
encourage consumers to take any particular action. Instead, when 
appropriate, representatives direct consumers to Bureau educational 
materials and tools, and other relevant government resources. The 
Bureau's U.S.-based contact center provides services to consumers in 
more than 180 languages and to consumers who are deaf, have hearing 
loss, or have speech disabilities. In 2017, the Bureau received more 
than 200,000 consumer inquiries.
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    \11\ 12 U.S.C. 5493(b)(3)(A).
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Overview of This Request for Information

    The Bureau is using this request for information (RFI) to seek 
public input regarding potential changes that can be implemented to the 
Bureau's consumer complaint and inquiry handling processes, consistent 
with law, to consider whether any changes to existing practices would 
be appropriate given the Bureau's statutory objective to provide 
consumers with timely and understandable information about consumer 
financial products and services to make responsible decisions as well 
as its statutory obligations to (1) establish reasonable procedures to 
provide timely responses to consumers and (2) centralize the collection 
of consumer complaints regarding consumer financial products or 
services. The Bureau encourages comments from all interested members of 
the public, including financial industry participants, government 
agencies, academic and research organizations, consumer advocacy and 
financial education groups, trade associations, and consumers.
    The Bureau previously issued an RFI seeking public input regarding 
potential changes that can be implemented to the Bureau's public 
reporting practices of consumer complaint information, consistent with 
law, to consider whether any changes to the practices would be 
appropriate.\12\ The Bureau will consider for the purposes of this RFI, 
and to the extent relevant, all comments previously received in 
connection with that request. Respondents, therefore, should not feel 
any obligation to include in their responses to this RFI suggestions 
and comments already submitted in response to the call for evidence on 
public reporting practices of consumer complaint information.
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    \12\ Request for Information Regarding Bureau Public Reporting 
Practices of Consumer Complaint Information, 83 FR 9499 (March 6, 
2018).
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Suggested Topics for Commenters

    To allow the Bureau to evaluate suggestions more effectively, the 
Bureau requests that, where possible, comments include:
     Specific discussion of the positive and negative aspects 
of the Bureau's complaint and inquiry processes;
     Specific suggestions regarding any potential updates or 
modifications to the Bureau's complaint and inquiry processes, 
consistent with the law and given one of the Bureau's statutory 
obligations is to establish reasonable procedures to provide consumers 
with timely responses to complaints and inquiries, including, in as 
much detail as possible, the nature of the modification, and supporting 
data or other information on impacts and costs;
     Specific best practices for complaint and inquiry 
processes given the Bureau's statutory objectives and functions, 
including ensuring consumers are provided with timely and 
understandable information to make responsible decisions about 
financial transactions \13\ and centralizing the collection of consumer 
complaints about consumer financial products or services.
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    \13\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1).
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    The following represents a preliminary attempt by the Bureau to 
identify elements of the Bureau's complaint and inquiry processes on 
which commenters may want to comment. This non-exhaustive list is meant 
to assist in the formulation of comments and is not intended to 
restrict the issues that may be addressed. In addressing these issues 
and questions, the Bureau requests that commenters identify with 
specificity the complaint or inquiry processes feature at issue, 
providing legal citations where appropriate and available.

[[Page 16841]]

    The Bureau is seeking feedback on all aspects of its consumer 
complaint and inquiry handling processes, including:
    1. Specific statutorily-permissible suggestions regarding how the 
Bureau currently allows consumers to submit complaints and inquiries, 
including:
    a. Should the Bureau require consumers to classify their submission 
affirmatively as a consumer complaint or inquiry prior to submission?
    b. How should the Bureau explain the difference between a consumer 
complaint and a consumer inquiry to consumers at the point of 
submission?
    c. Should the Bureau develop a process for companies to reclassify 
consumers' submissions? If so, what criteria should the Bureau 
establish to help companies differentiate consumer complaints from 
consumer inquiries?
    2. Specific statutorily-permissible suggestions regarding the 
Bureau's consumer complaint processes, including:
    a. The Bureau currently receives complaints via six channels: 
Website, referral from Federal and State entities/agencies, telephone, 
mail, fax, and email. Should the Bureau add or discontinue any channels 
for accepting complaints?
    b. Consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act's definition of ``consumer,'' 
the Bureau currently allows consumers to authorize someone else (e.g., 
lawyer, advocate, power of attorney) to submit complaints on their 
behalf. Should the Bureau expand, limit, or maintain the ability of 
authorized third parties to submit complaints?
    3. Specific statutorily-permissible suggestions regarding the 
Bureau's consumer inquiry processes, including:
    a. The Bureau currently accepts consumer inquiries via telephone 
and mail. Should the Bureau add or discontinue any channels for 
accepting inquiries?
    b. Should the Bureau develop web chat systems to support consumers' 
submission of inquiries?
    c. Should the Bureau develop a process for companies to provide 
timely responses to consumer inquiries sent to them by the Bureau? If 
so, how should the Bureau balance its objective of providing timely and 
understandable information to consumers \14\ with its objective of 
reducing unwarranted regulatory burden on companies? \15\
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    \14\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(1).
    \15\ 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(3).
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    d. Should the Bureau publish data about consumer inquiries? If so, 
what types of data or analyses about consumer inquiries should be 
shared with the public?

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 5511(c).

    Dated: April 10, 2018.
Mick Mulvaney,
Acting Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2018-07943 Filed 4-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P