Use cases

Find the complaints in every call, chat and email (US)

US rules. Reads each contact against your complaint definition (the CFPB's by default), files it by product and issue, and flags regulator threats.

Try it on this example

Example · An unauthorized card charge, a CFPB threat, and no complaint logged

Channel (call transcript, chat, email, letter, social): call transcript

The whole contact

Agent (Dwayne): Thank you for calling Cedar Valley Bank, this is Dwayne. Can I have your full name, please? Customer: Renee Brooks. Agent (Dwayne): Thanks, Ms. Brooks. For verification, can you give me the last four digits of your debit card and your ZIP code? Customer: 3308, and the ZIP is 58104. Agent (Dwayne): Thank you, you're verified. How can I help today? Customer: I'm calling about the dispute on my debit card. Again. There's a charge for $486.20 from an electronics website I have never used. I called about it on the 2nd and the lady told me I'd get the money back in my account while you looked into it, within ten business days. It's not there. I've called twice since then and every time someone says it's in review. Agent (Dwayne): I'm sorry about that. Let me pull up the claim. OK, I see a dispute opened on the 2nd for $486.20 to a merchant called TechDirect Online. The status shows it's still in review with our card disputes team. Customer: I know it's in review, that's what everyone keeps telling me. Is the money coming back or not? Agent (Dwayne): I don't see a provisional credit posted yet. I can see a note that the claim was waiting on a form. Customer: What form? Nobody asked me for a form. I told you everything on the first call. Agent (Dwayne): It looks like a fraud affidavit was mailed to you on the 5th. Customer: I never got it. And because that money is gone my rent payment bounced last week and my landlord charged me a $75 late fee. Plus you charged me a $35 overdraft fee on top of it. So I'm out a lot of money for something I didn't do. Agent (Dwayne): I understand how frustrating that is. I can email the affidavit to you right now so you can sign it today. Customer: Fine, send it. But I want the $486 back, and I want the overdraft fee and the late fee covered. This is your mistake, not mine. Agent (Dwayne): Once the affidavit is back, the disputes team will review the claim. I'm not able to refund the overdraft fee from here, but you can ask the disputes team once the claim is decided. Customer: Honestly, this is ridiculous. Three calls and I'm still getting the runaround. If this isn't fixed by the end of the week I'm filing a complaint with the CFPB. I mean it. Agent (Dwayne): I understand. I've sent the affidavit to the email address we have on file. Is there anything else I can help with today? Customer: No. Just get it fixed. Agent (Dwayne): Thanks for calling Cedar Valley Bank, Ms. Brooks. Have a good day.
  1. Does the customer express dissatisfaction with something the bank did or failed to do?Yes99%
  2. Under the complaint definition in the context, is this contact a complaint?Yes98%
  3. What harm does the customer say they have suffered or may suffer?Money lost or charged100%
  4. Which of the bank's products is the contact about?Debit card use100%
  5. What is the customer mainly dissatisfied about?Fraud, scam or dispute handling100%
  6. Did the agent handle the customer's dissatisfaction as a complaint?Not handled as a complaint99%
  7. How does the customer's issue stand at the end of the contact?Not resolved89%
  8. Does the customer ask for money back, compensation or a goodwill payment?Yes99%
  9. Does the customer say they have gone, or will go, to an ombudsman, regulator, lawyer, the press or social media?Yes95%
  10. Does the customer say a transaction, charge, account entry or credit report item is wrong or was not authorized by them?Yes99%
  11. Does the customer say they were treated differently because of a protected characteristic such as race, sex or age?No94%
  12. Is there enough in the text to tell whether the customer is dissatisfied, and with what?Yes99%

These are real answers stored from one run on this example.

The prism behind it

Find the complaints in every call, chat and email (US)12 questions

Fields

  • Channel (call transcript, chat, email, letter, social)
  • The whole contact

Context

Rule set: United States. The firm is a US retail bank offering checking and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, personal and vehicle loans, and mortgages. The text is one whole customer contact: a call transcript or chat with speaker labels, or a single email, letter or social message. No single US rule defines a complaint for every bank. Our complaint management policy uses the wording the CFPB uses for the complaints it receives: "submissions that express dissatisfaction with, or communicate suspicion of wrongful conduct by, an identifiable entity related to a consumer's personal experience with a financial product or service". We apply it to every contact, spoken or written, not only to complaints sent to a regulator. How we apply it: - The customer does not have to use the word complaint. Mild, polite or sarcastic dissatisfaction counts: "not happy with this", "this is the third time I have called", "I have been on hold for an hour". - Suspicion of wrongdoing counts even when the customer is calm: "I think you opened this card without asking me". - A complaint put right during the same contact is still a complaint and is recorded. - Dissatisfaction only with a third party the bank has no part in (a store, a landlord, another bank) is not a complaint about the bank. Dissatisfaction with how the bank handled that third party's problem is. - A plain question or request with no dissatisfaction is not a complaint. "No complaints, thanks" is not a complaint. - Where a customer may take a complaint next: the CFPB, our federal regulator, a state banking regulator or attorney general, the Better Business Bureau, an attorney, the press, social media. - Some contacts start a legal clock of their own, whatever else they contain: an unauthorized or incorrect electronic transfer (Regulation E), a billing error on a credit card (Regulation Z), an error on a mortgage account (Regulation X), or wrong information we report to the credit bureaus (FCRA). A notice of an electronic transfer error may be given by phone. Code sends each to its team and applies its clock. - A customer who says they were treated differently because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, receiving public assistance or another protected characteristic is referred to fair lending review. We record only what the customer says. Worked examples: - Complaint: "Third time I have asked for this statement and still nothing." - Complaint: "You charged me an overdraft fee twice for the same payment, can you fix it", even when the agent refunds it at once. - Complaint: "I never signed up for this credit card, why is it on my credit report?" - Not a complaint: "What is my routing number?" - Not a complaint: "The store will not refund me, how do I dispute the charge?", with no dissatisfaction about the bank. - Not a complaint: a survey answer of "fine" with nothing else.

Questions

  1. Does the customer express dissatisfaction with something the bank did or failed to do? Yes / No

    Read the customer's words across the whole contact. Count dissatisfaction however it is worded, including mild, polite or sarcastic remarks, and count it even when it was put right later in the contact. Do not count dissatisfaction only with a third party the bank has no part in, and do not count the agent's words. Yes: The customer says, in any words, that they are unhappy with something the bank did or failed to do. No: The customer asks, tells or thanks without saying they are unhappy with the bank.

  2. Under the complaint definition in the context, is this contact a complaint? Yes / No

    Apply only the definition and the notes in the context. The customer does not need to use the word complaint, suspicion of wrongdoing counts, and a matter put right during the contact still counts. Do not weigh whether the complaint is justified. Yes: The contact meets the definition in the context. No: The contact does not meet the definition: a plain question or request, or dissatisfaction the definition leaves out.

  3. What harm does the customer say they have suffered or may suffer? Choice

    Pick the main harm the customer describes in their own words.

    • Money lost or charged The customer says money was charged, lost, withheld, paid late or not received, or that they had to pay a cost because of the problem.
    • Distress The main effect the customer describes is worry, upset or anxiety, more than any cost or lost time.
    • Inconvenience The main effect the customer describes is time, effort, repeated contacts or disruption, with no money lost.
    • No harm described The customer describes no loss, distress or inconvenience, whether or not they are unhappy.
  4. Which of the bank's products is the contact about? Choice

    Pick the product the contact is mainly about, using the descriptions below.

    • Checking account The checking account itself: opening, closing, statements, deposits, holds, account fees and everyday running, when no more specific option below fits.
    • Savings account or CD A savings or money market account or a certificate of deposit, its interest rate, access or transfers into it.
    • Overdraft Overdraft coverage or an overdraft line of credit, and the overdraft or returned item fees that come with it.
    • Credit card The credit card account: limits, interest, fees, statements, rewards and repayments.
    • Personal loan A personal loan or personal line of credit: the application, repayments, interest or fees.
    • Vehicle loan or lease A car or other vehicle loan or lease: the application, repayments, interest, fees or repossession.
    • Mortgage or home equity A mortgage, home equity loan or home equity line of credit: the application, rate, escrow, repayments or delinquency.
    • Payments and transfers Sending or receiving money from an account: person-to-person payments, wires, ACH transfers, bill pay and direct deposits.
    • Debit card use Using a debit or ATM card: declined payments, card blocks, disputed card transactions, ATM withdrawals and replacement cards.
    • Credit reporting What the bank reported to the credit bureaus about any of its accounts, when that is the main point.
    • Online and mobile banking Getting into or using the app or online banking, when no other product is at issue.
    • Branch, ATM or phone service Service in a branch, at an ATM or on the phone line, when no product is at issue.
    • Not about a product General service or conduct with no product named or implied.
  5. What is the customer mainly dissatisfied about? Choice

    Pick the main cause of the dissatisfaction, as the customer describes it. If the customer is not dissatisfied, pick No dissatisfaction.

    • Charges, fees or interest A fee, charge, interest amount or price the customer disputes or finds unfair.
    • Payment or transaction error Money sent, taken, credited, duplicated, delayed or missed wrongly by the bank's systems or staff.
    • Technical fault The app, website, card or phone line did not work, and no payment went wrong because of it.
    • Fraud, scam or dispute handling How the bank dealt with a transaction the customer says they did not make, a scam, or a claim to get money back.
    • Account block, restriction or closure The bank froze, restricted or closed an account, or refused to open one.
    • A decision the customer disagrees with A declined application, refund request or credit limit decision, other than the account and dispute decisions above.
    • Service and staff conduct Waiting, no call back, being passed between teams, rudeness, or wrong information from staff.
    • Delinquency and collections How the bank handled missed payments, debt or collection calls and letters.
    • Unclear information or terms Disclosures, statements, terms or explanations that were unclear, wrong or missing.
    • Account or product opened without consent The customer says an account, card, service or add-on was opened or enrolled without their agreement, or sold with misleading claims.
    • Wrong credit report information The customer says what the bank reported to the credit bureaus is wrong or should not be there.
    • Data or privacy Personal data used, shared, lost or kept wrongly.
    • Unfair or unequal treatment The customer says they were treated worse than other customers, whether or not they name a protected characteristic.
    • No dissatisfaction The customer raises nothing they are unhappy about.
  6. Did the agent handle the customer's dissatisfaction as a complaint? Choice

    Look only at the agent's words. Handling it as a complaint means calling it a complaint, saying it will be logged or passed to the complaints team, or explaining how to complain. Fixing the problem, or opening a dispute or claim, is not on its own handling it as a complaint.

    • Handled as a complaint The agent calls it a complaint, says it will be logged or passed to the complaints team, or explains how to complain.
    • Not handled as a complaint The agent replies, and may fix the problem or open a dispute, but does none of those things.
    • No agent reply in the text The text holds only the customer's words, such as an email, a letter or a survey comment.
  7. How does the customer's issue stand at the end of the contact? Choice

    Judge from the last exchanges in the text. Acceptance can be reluctant: "ok fine" counts.

    • Resolved and accepted The bank put it right or explained it, and the customer accepts that, even reluctantly.
    • Fix offered, acceptance unclear A fix or an answer was given, but the customer does not say whether they accept it.
    • Not resolved Nothing was done, or the customer rejects what was offered or stays unhappy.
    • No agent reply in the text The text holds only the customer's words, so nothing was offered yet.
  8. Does the customer ask for money back, compensation or a goodwill payment? Yes / No

    Count a direct or an implied request, such as "who pays the fee?". Do not count a request only for an explanation or an apology. Yes: The customer asks for a refund, a fee back, compensation, a goodwill payment or a cost to be covered. No: The customer asks for no money.

  9. Does the customer say they have gone, or will go, to an ombudsman, regulator, lawyer, the press or social media? Yes / No

    Count the bodies named in the context and their equivalents: an ombudsman, a regulator or government agency, an attorney general, a lawyer or solicitor, the press, a public review or a social media post. Count a threat, or a statement that it is already done. Do not count a plain question about how to complain. Yes: The customer says they have gone, or will go, to one of these. No: No such body or step is mentioned as something the customer will do or has done.

  10. Does the customer say a transaction, charge, account entry or credit report item is wrong or was not authorized by them? Yes / No

    Count an unauthorized or incorrect transfer, card transaction or ATM withdrawal, a missing deposit, a charge billed wrongly or twice, a wrong entry on a mortgage account, or wrong information the bank reported to the credit bureaus. Count it however it is said, by phone or in writing, and whether or not the agent opened a claim. Do not count a fee the customer only finds unfair but does not say was charged in error. The context says which teams and clocks code applies. Yes: The customer says at least one such item is wrong or was not authorized by them. No: The customer says nothing on the account or credit report is wrong.

  11. Does the customer say they were treated differently because of a protected characteristic such as race, sex or age? Yes / No

    Use the characteristics listed in the context and their plain equivalents. Count only what the customer says. Never infer a characteristic from a name, an accent, the way the customer writes or where they live. Yes: The customer says, or plainly suggests, that the bank treated them differently because of such a characteristic. No: The customer makes no such statement, even if they say they were treated unfairly for another reason.

  12. Is there enough in the text to tell whether the customer is dissatisfied, and with what? Yes / No

    Answer No when the text is cut off, too short, garbled, or so full of transcription errors that a careful reader could not judge it. Yes: A careful reader could tell whether the customer is dissatisfied and, if so, what about. No: The text is too incomplete or garbled to judge.

Lens columns

dissatisfaction_expressed, dissatisfaction_expressed_probability, complaint, complaint_probability, harm_stated, harm_stated_probability, product, product_probability, cause, cause_probability, handled_as_complaint, handled_as_complaint_probability, resolution, resolution_probability, redress_requested, redress_requested_probability, escalation_threat, escalation_threat_probability, error_asserted, error_asserted_probability, discrimination_alleged, discrimination_alleged_probability, enough_information, enough_information_probability

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