Compliance Blog

For Monty Python fans, there are few funnier pieces of comedy than the "complaint sketch."  The sketch involves a person who bought a parrot that dies soon after the purchase.  He returns to the store (with the dead parrot) to make a complaint, and the skit takes off from there.

If only all complaints were so enjoyable...

Consumers are not afraid of complaining.  The FTC, it seems, gets quite a bit of them.  In 2008, they received more than 1.2 million!  The top 10? Here they are....

1. Identity Theft. 313,982 complaints.
2. Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection.104,642 complaints.
3. Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales.52,615  complaints.
4. Internet Services.52,102 complaints.
5. Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams.38,505 complaints.
6. Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users.34,940 complaints.)
7. Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries.33,340 complaints.
8. Television and Electronic Media.25,930 complaints.
9. Banks and Lenders.22,890 complaints.
10. Telecom Equipment and Mobile Services. 22,387 complaints.

Go here for the official list from the FTC.

Do members complain about credit unions?  You bet they do.  In fact, we get quite a few of them here.  (Consumers tend to confuse us with NCUA for some reason.)  In addition, NCUA has a consumer complaint hotline/website set up right here. NCUA outlines the complaint process for federal credit unions here. 

In short, NCUA urges members to work things out with their credit union.  If that doesn't work, they ask that members forward the information to them.  NCUA will log it, and then forward the complaint to your supervisory committee.  Of note, NCUA states the following:

NCUA cannot represent consumers in settling claims or recovering damages. However, if your complaint brings a violation to our attention, we will take steps to ensure the federal credit union complies with applicable laws and regulations. (Emphasis added.)

In addition, I've always seen complaints as a source of reputation risk.  You'll always get some complaints, but at someone point the complaints will start to affect your reputation - especially if you do not handle them well.  How do you manage this risk?

• Understand your complaints process.  Where might complaints come from? How do you handle them now?  When does something rise to the level of "complaint" at your credit union?
• Determine whether you need to create a policy and procedure to address complaints. 
• Track them.  Are complaints increasing or decreasing?  Where are they coming from?  What are people complaining about? With this data, you'll be able to distribute resources more effectively.

Finally, NCUA's Supervisory Committee Guide has a ton of information on the complaint resolution process. Access the guide here.