The CFPB has released an updated version of its Company Portal Manual that describes the operation of the portal through which companies can view and respond to consumer complaints submitted through the CFPB’s complaint system (which the CFPB plans to expand beyond complaints about credit cards and mortgages to include complaints about other products such as deposit accounts.) While the initial version indicated that a company was expected to respond to the consumer within 10 calendar days of when a complaint was forwarded by the CFPB, the updated manual indicates that a response is expected within 15 calendar days (after which time a complaint’s status will change to “past due.”) It also specifically notes that “the CFPB response time requirements do not replace or satisfy certain statutory or regulatory requirements.”
The updated manual is substantially more detailed than the initial version. Among those new details is a description of what will result in “prioritizing [a] complaint for investigation” by the CFPB. That happens if a company does not respond to a complaint within 30 calendar days of when the CFPB sent the complaint or if a company initially marks the status of a complaint it received as “in progress” but does not enter a follow-up response within 60 calendar days of when the complaint was sent.