PY011 - Critical Complaints



CRITICAL COMPLAINTSA Critical Complaint is any complaint from a client that cannot be resolved at the Representative level and needs to be escalated to Management and the Quality Assurance Department. Once a complaint has been escalated to the Manager of a department, it is the responsibility of the Manager to research the problem and determine if the complaint is “critical.” Critical Complaints must be documented as an open task in the client’s “Activity” screen, under the Task Type-Critical Complaint. Include as much detail as possible. All client inquiries must be responded to within two business days of receipt of the inquiry (Reference PY REF001, “Response Time Policy for Resolving Client Issues”) and fully resolved in a timely manner.REFERENCE:PY REF001Response Time Policy for Resolving Client IssuesQA LT003Release of Claims FormExamples of Critical Complaints include, but are not limited to:Clients threatening to take Legal action against ACCCClients demanding a refund for errors and/or complications in service providedClients threatening to complain to the Better Business Bureau (BBB)Clients who have lodged a formal BBB complaint (entered under Task type QA-BBB Critical Complaint)TYPES OF CRITICAL COMPLAINTS:Critical Complaints are only to be opened by Management or Quality Assurance Staff. The only time a representative can open a Critical Complaint is if no member of the management staff or QA staff is available. The representative needs to include all details of the complaint and must still escalate the issue to their department supervisor or manager by leaving them a voicemail or email with the details of the Critical Complaint. Whenever a Critical Complaint Task is opened, a batch email is automatically sent to the Quality Assurance Department as well as to the CS Supervisor and CS Manager. See below for opening Critical Complaints for the Counseling Department.BBB Critical Complaints are only opened by the Quality Assurance Department since Quality Assurance Management is notified by the Better Business Bureau whenever a formal BBB issue has been lodged against ACCC. Whenever a BBB Critical Complaint Task is opened, a batch email is automatically sent to the Quality Assurance department. Complaints via Email are sent from clients through an email address on our website page. This email is sent to staff in the Client Services, Quality Assurance, and IT Departments. A lot of these emails are various client inquiries and not an actual complaint. These issues are addressed by the applicable department as needed. However, if an inquiry is deemed to be warranted a Critical Complaint, the QA Manager will advise the QA Specialists, and have this complaint added to the Critical Complaint Log for tracking. Complaints for Counseling Department are tracked through the Critical Complaint log, as Tasks cannot be opened in the counseling database. Quality Assurance will email the Counseling Manager and Assistant Manager the details of the complaint that came in and forward the email the client sent, if applicable. QA will enter the details of the complaint in the counseling file. All correspondence and information pertaining to the Critical Complaint is saved in 2 locations: the Critical Complaints folder on the QA drive and the Counseling Department folder on the shared Quality Related Items drive. If the complaint came in through Counseling directly, it is the responsibility of the Counseling Management to alert Quality Assurance via email. Counseling Management will enter the details of the complaint in the counseling file. Counseling Management is responsible for contacting the client and addressing the Critical Complaint.It is the responsibility of the Quality Assurance Department to determine an appropriate resolution to all complaints posted as “critical.” All actions taken to resolve a Critical Complaint must be recorded under the open Task in CreditSoft and resolved as appropriate. For Counseling-only clients, enter all action taken to resolve the Critical Complaint in the Comments screen in the Counseling database. This information should also be updated in the Critical Complaint log and then closed. RECEIVING A COMPLAINT:The first step to receiving any Critical Complaint should be to contact the client, acknowledge that the complaint was received, and assure them that it is being researched. Inform the client that they will be hearing from ACCC shortly regarding the progress. This can be done by phone or email.Whenever a client is expressing a complaint, the representative should review the client’s information in CreditSoft: Make sure to review, including but not limited to, all comments, contracts, proposal statuses, correspondence, and statements, as appropriate, and identify the appropriate resolution for the issue.Enter all comments regarding the issue and resolution of the issue, as appropriate, as an Info-Only Task in CreditSoft. For Counseling-only clients, enter all comments in the Comments screen in the Counseling database.If the issue requires further action to be taken open the applicable Task with the earliest possible follow-up date. (Note: This is not necessary if a Critical Complaint Task has already been opened or worked.)Contact the client with the progress of resolution for the complaint.If a resolution cannot be identified and/or the client requests to speak to a Manager, forward the complaint to the department Supervisor. Make sure to include all necessary information regarding the complaint and the progress of identifying a resolution for the complaint: The Supervisor will determine if the complaint should be forwarded to the Manager of the Department or identify further action that they or the representative can take to resolve the issue.If the complaint is forwarded to the Manager, the Manager must research the complaint to identify the appropriate resolution or to identify if the complaint is “critical.” If a resolution is identified, take the necessary actions to resolve the complaint. Make sure to record all actions and resolution in the client’s “Activity” screen under the appropriate Task. For Counseling-only clients, enter all comments in the Comments screen in the Counseling database.If the complaint is identified as “critical,” open a new Task in the client’s “Activity” screen using the “Critical Complaint” drop-down. This will automatically send a batch email to the Quality Assurance Department and to CS Management. For Counseling-only clients, enter all comments in the Comments screen in the Counseling database. Include as much detail as possible. Forward any notes, paperwork, and research accumulated to the Quality Assurance Department for review of the Critical Complaint.The Quality Assurance Department must review all information pertaining to the client’s Critical Complaint and develop an appropriate resolution with support from the Operational Department in question (see next section for “Resolving Critical Complaints.”).If the Department Manager or Supervisor is rapidly able to resolve the critical complaint shortly after it has been escalated to the Quality Assurance Department, the Manager or Supervisor must complete the following steps:Clearly notate the client’s account regarding the resolution using sub comments under the open Critical Complaint Task (do not close the Critical Complaint). For Counseling-only clients, enter all comments in the Comments screen in the Counseling database.Contact the Quality Assurance Department Manager regarding the resolutionOnce the Quality Assurance Manager and Operational Department responsible have reviewed the Critical Complaint it can be subsequently closed when appropriate.RESOLVING CRITICAL COMPLAINTSQA and the Operational Department(s) in question must review each critical complaint once QA is notified via the batch email notification, including reviewing all previous research completed and notes/comments regarding resolution of the issue. Based on this information both departments can jointly determine the appropriate action necessary to resolve the Critical Complaint. If it is determined that the client is to receive a refund, complete all research to determine exactly how much the client should be refunded:The CEO must approve any refunds over $500.00. Compile all necessary evidence and data for the refund as resolution of the Critical Complaint to present to the CEO.Depending on the nature of the issue, the funds may be transferred to a creditor in the program to help mitigate the issue or refunded directly to the client via ACH or Check, as applicable.Any client receiving a refund of over $500.00 must sign a “Release of Claims” letter of stating that the amount refunded was acceptable and, if applicable, was applied to the designated creditor(s). This form must be signed and returned prior to receiving the refund. Resolve the “Critical Complaint” Task in the client’s “Activity” screen, noting the appropriate resolution. If the client is/was NOT enrolled in the DMP, enter the resolution in the Comments screen in the Counseling database file.If the client threatens legal action, take appropriate actions possible to resolve the Critical Complaint to avoid legal action. In most cases, any threats for legal action are resolved at no fault to ACCC, or result in a refund to the client:If the client continues to pursue legal action, compile all data and evidence to defend the organization’s position. Present the information compiled and pass along to the CEO for further action as appropriate.Enter detailed comments in the “Critical Complaint” Task, noting the action taken as appropriate.If the client threatens to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) against ACCC, take appropriate actions possible to resolve the Critical Complaint to avoid the BBB complaint.If the client has lodged a formal Critical Complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) it is the QA department’s responsibility, with support from the operational department(s) in question, to take the appropriate actions to resolve the BBB complaint:Review the complaint and the status of the client’s account. Collect all necessary information regarding the complaint and identify a resolution. QA must make sure to open a “BBB Critical Complaint” task in the client’s “Activity” screen for tracking.A response must be provided by the Quality Assurance Manager or designee through the BBB portal within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of the BBB letter/email. Make sure to include ACCC’s response to the client and a copy of the ACCC check sent to the client for any justified refunds (see section B step 1 of “Resolving Critical Complaints” for refunding money to clients).Resolve the “BBB Critical Complaint” Task in the client’s “Activity” screen, noting the appropriate resolution.When working to resolve the complaint, the client must be contacted a minimum of 3 times, by various means (phone, email, and mail) over a 30-day period. After these attempts are made, the critical complaint can be closed 30 days from the date of last contact by the client, due to lack of response. NOTE: The 3 contacts over a 30-day period process does not apply to “Better Business Bureau Complaints.” BBB complaints follow steps 4a-4c above.Logging, Filing and Scanning Critical ComplaintsQA is responsible for logging all Critical Complaints in the Tracking Log. Open critical complaints are reviewed on a bi-weekly basis by the QA department.Open the Critical Complaint Tracking Log on the QA Drive.Enter all complaint related information as applicable. Some fields will be completed upon resolution. If a complaint involves a Bank of America account, the QA Manager must notify Bank of America within 2 business days with a summary of the complaint and the resolution or outcome of the issueEmail the QA Manager as notification the client has these either a BOA, Chase or is a NH resident and enter that date in the log. Upon response from QA Manager, enter the date an email was sent to the creditor for notification of complaint as well. We should have two dates. One date for when email was sent to the QA Manager and the other date for when the creditor was notified by ACCC. If it is a BBB complaint that requires more detailed notes, complete the BBB specific tab of the critical complaint log. Update appropriate sections of the log bi-weekly, as necessary. Have all related paper documentation scanned into the CreditSoft Document Repository. For complaints related only to the Counseling department, have all related paper documentation scanned and filed into 2 locations: the Critical Complaints folder on the QA drive and the Counseling Department folder on the shared Quality Related Items drive. File all documents that relate to the critical complaint. Documents are saved electronically.All relevant documents are saved to the appropriate Critical Complaint or BBB Complaint folder on the QA Drive. The folders are organized by year.If a client is/was enrolled in the DMP, electronic copies of emails and notes regarding phone conversations are saved electronically in CreditSoft under the client’s ID#. If the client is/was NOT enrolled in the DMP and the file only in Counseling, electronic copies of emails and notes regarding phone conversations are saved electronically in 2 locations: the Critical Complaints folder on the QA drive and the Counseling Department folder on the shared Quality Related Items drive. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download