SES Consumer Complaints – More about Processing a Complaint

Processing a complaint includes:

• Documenting research and communication related to the complaint.
  • The goal of this area of the complaint is to document and account for all activity that could occur outside SES. While we do not currently have consumer-facing functionality allowing a consumer to initiate a complaint, you can still track an email exchange or phone call between you and the consumer, or time spent researching on the CFPB’s complaint portal.
• Adding alleged violations identified through the review of the complaint.
  • An alleged violation may reference a Federal or State regulation or statute, if applicable, and must include a description. In certain instances, complaints with alleged violations will get escalated to an investigation or examination team.
• Concluding your review by either closing or referring the complaint.

Here are few more details about the referral process in SES.

The referral process allows you to refer the complaint to another agency with active complaint users in SES. The receiving agency can then continue to process the complaint in SES.

Keep in mind, the receiving agency has the option to either accept or reject the complaint referral. If they choose to reject the referral, your agency continues to own the complaint and is responsible for processing it.

Also, it’s important to note that a complaint can no longer be referred to another agency in SES once an information request has been sent to the company. In the instance where an information request has been sent and you realize the complaint applies to another jurisdiction, the complaint can be closed. You would then communicate with the correct agency outside of SES and they would then create a new complaint.

The closure process is straight forward.

• Closure reasons include
  • Cancelled by Complainant
  • Closed with Explanation
  • Closed with Monetary Relief
  • Closed with Non-Monetary Relief
  • Complainant Ceased Communication
  • Duplicate
  • Invalid
  • Referred to Federal Agency
  • Referred to Investigation (at your agency)
  • Referred to other State Agency (used when the receiving agency does not have users in the complaints system and therefore the referral process cannot be used in SES)
  • Referred to State Attorney General

If the referral options are selected at closure, the referral to the appropriate agency must be communicated outside of SES so that a new complaint can be started by the agency, if applicable. The goal with providing these options at closure is to enable the agency to track all complaints they have processed.

At this time, a closed complaint cannot be reopened by the agency. If new details surrounding the complaint resurface, a new complaint can be created to document these updates.

Like most areas of the complaint system, all complaints users can process a complaint, including closing or referring a complaint as well as accepting or rejecting an incoming referral. You are encouraged to discuss protocols and coordinate with your complaint users to ensure work is not duplicated.