WASHINGTON—The BCFP is being asked to revisit its complaint intake system.
As the request for information (RFI) process continues at the Bureau, CUNA submitted a white paper to the CFPB addressing this topic, and provided other suggestions. CUNA sent this same white paper to the BCFP last week to “ensure regulations are tailored and streamlined.”
The white paper, titled CUNA’s Common-Sense Reforms To Bureau Of Consumer Financial Protection Rules And Procedures, can be found in CUToday.info’s Open Vault.
“Even though the number of credit union-related complaints is extremely low, to ensure the complaint intake process is effective, we urge the Bureau to take steps so that the number of non-substantive and meritless complaints does not increase,” CUNA’s white paper reads. “Thus, we urge the Bureau to revisit the complaint intake system’s process of filtering out clearly frivolous consumer complaints.”
While the online offering of complaints makes the process more efficient for consumers, CUNA argues that it has the potential of increasing unfounded complaints.
“It is important that the Bureau be aware that each complaint a credit union receives—regardless of merit—has a cost to the credit union and in turn its members,” the letter reads.
CUNA also urged the Bureau to:
- Take appropriate steps to verify the legitimacy and accuracy, to the extent possible, of a consumer’s complaint and/or compliment prior to public disclosure
- Explore improvements to the current system which CUNA believes could make some institutions effectively unable to respond to a narrative description of a complaint due to privacy restrictions
- Reexamine its marketing of the complaint system to consumers. Since most credit unions are not supervised by the Bureau, any complaints regarding them should be directed to the NCUA. The Bureau’s marketing directs consumers to the Bureau’s complaint system, which causes confusion and delays in response when those consumers are then redirected to the NCUA and/or the credit union directly