Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau or CFPB) is proposing a new information collection titled, “Consumer Response Customer Response Survey.”

DATES:

Written comments are encouraged and must be received on or before December 29, 2016 to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by the title of the information collection, OMB Control Number (see below), and docket number (see above), by any of the following methods:

• Electronic: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• OMB: Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or fax to (202) 395-5806. Mailed or faxed comments to OMB should be to the attention of the OMB Desk Officer for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

Please note that comments submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. In general, all comments received will become public records, including any personal information provided. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or Social Security numbers, should not be included.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Documentation prepared in support of this information collection request is available at www.reginfo.gov (this link becomes active on the day following publication of this notice). Select “Information Collection Review,” under “Currently under review, use the dropdown menu “Select Agency” and select “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” (recent submissions to OMB will be at the top of the list). The same documentation is also available at http://www.regulations.gov . Requests for additional information should be directed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, (Attention: PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552, (202) 435-9575, or email: CFPB_PRA@cfpb.gov. Please do not submit comments to this email box.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: Consumer Response Customer Response Survey.

OMB Control Number: 3170-XXXX.

Type of Review: New collection (Request for a new OMB control number).

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 93,700.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,685.

Abstract: The purpose of this information collection is to incorporate a short survey into the complaint closing process. Consumers will have the option to provide feedback on the company's response to and handling of their complaint via all channels including online, phone, fax, and mail. The results of this feedback will be shared with the company that responded to the complaint to inform its complaint handling. The feedback will also be used to inform the Bureau's work to supervise companies, enforce federal consumer financial laws, write better rules and regulations, and monitor the market for consumer financial products and services. Consistent with the Bureau's policy statement on Disclosure of Consumer Complaint Data, the Bureau will evaluate the data collected from consumer feedback before publication on the Consumer Complaint Database. The Bureau anticipates publication of consumer feedback to highlight positive company behavior, provide the public with timely and understandable information about consumer financial products and services, and improve the functioning, transparency, and efficiency of markets for such products and services. Only those feedback narratives for which opt-in consumer consent is obtained, and to which robust personal information scrubbing standard and methodology is applied, will be eligible for publication.

This information collection reflects comments received in response to the March 24, 2015 (80 FR 15583) Notice and Request for Information (RFI), seeking input from the public on the potential collection and sharing of information about consumers' positive interactions with financial service providers including providing more information about a company's complaint handling such as highlighting the quality of responses to consumers by replacing the consumer “dispute” function with a two-part consumer feedback process as well as comments received during the 60-day comment period and user testing conducting concurrent with the 60-day comment period. The consumer will have the ability to answer three questions about the company's response to and handling of his or her complaint, to rate the company's overall response using one-to-five stars and provide a narrative description in support of the rating. Positive feedback about the company's handling of the consumer's complaint would be reflected by both high satisfaction scores and by the narrative in support of the score. Negative feedback about the company's handling of the consumer's complaint would be better supported and more useful to companies than the current “dispute” function. The Consumer Complaint Company Response Survey will replace the “dispute” option and allow consumers to offer both positive and negative feedback on their complaint experience.

Request for Comments: The Bureau issued a 60-day Federal Register notice on August 1, 2016, 81 FR 50484, Docket Number: CFPB-2016-0041. Comments were solicited and continue to be invited on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the Bureau's estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methods and the assumptions used; (c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public record.