| The Consumer Affairs Division is the primary contact for the public and licensees to
ask questions regarding state statutes, rules, and other authoritative guidance regarding
operations of a financial institution or enterprise within the state of Arizona (for a
list of companies regulated by our department, look in Overview for a table of licensed entities). |
| |
| The Consumer Affairs Division also investigates complaints filed against individuals
suspected of engaging in unlicensed activities. Persons conducting business without the
proper license have been of great concern to the Department and, on an average, we
investigate hundreds of unlicensed activity cases on an annual basis. This type of activity
is potentially a problem to all concerned because the business of the unlicensed entity is
without Department review of the individuals operating the entity and without supervision
to control their activities. Unlicensed activity is deterred through the usage of a broad
array of administrative sanctions and further prosecution when appropriate. |
|
| Who We Regulate |
| Complaints |
| The Consumer Affairs Division also is responsible for reviewing complaints against
those entities licensed by our agency. |
|
| If you have a complaint, please read the following information before filing in order
to ensure the best outcome for your situation. |
|
| First, please check to make sure that your complaint is for an entity which we
regulate. Particularly for Banks, Credit Unions, Savings Banks, and Credit Card
companies. For Banks and Credit Unions, an entity can be either federally or state
chartered. If they are federally chartered, they are considered a national bank or
credit union. Some examples of nationally chartered institutions that we do not
regulate: |
| Wells Fargo Bank |
JPMorganChase |
| Bank of America |
Washington Mutual |
| Desert Schools Federal Credit Union |
Arizona Federal Credit Union |
|
| Savings banks are all regulated at the national level.
Likewise, entities which issue or process credit cards are governed by national agencies and not the Arizona
Department of Financial Institutions. For addresses and phone numbers of the agencies which regulate
each of these entities go to our agency referral page. |
|
| If you have a complaint for an entity we regulate, you should first try to resolve it
directly by contacting an officer of the entity. If for some reason you are unable
to to resolve the problem in this way, you may wish to contact senior management or the
entity's consumer affairs representative for further assistance. Dealing
directly with the institution is usually the fastest, simplest, and most effective
approach. Most companies value their customers and in most situations will be
responsive to your concerns. |
|
| If you are unable to resolve your complaint directly, you may file a complaint with our
agency, which is responsible for ensuring that the entities we regulate comply with
applicable state laws. |
|
| What we will do once you submit a Complaint |
| We will assign a case number to your complaint and send you an
acknowledgement that provides your case number. Your letter will be reviewed by our
Consumer Affairs staff who will send your complaint to the entity you have named.
This enables the institution/enterprise to compile records in response to your
complaint. If additional information is is needed, we will contact you by telephone
or in writing. If you should have any questions regarding the resolution of your
complaint, it is helpful to identify your case number when you contact us. |
|
| The entity should address the issues raised in your complaint and
provide a written response to our agency upon completion of its internal investigation.
In some cases, the entity will also respond to you directly. Consumer Affairs
staff will analyze the entity's response to ensure that no laws have been violated and
that your concerns have been addressed. We will attempt to resolve your complaint
within 30 days. If we need additional time to resolve your complaint due to the
complexity of the issues involved, we will usually send you a letter of explanation. |
|
| What is the result? |
| If our review of your complaint finds a violation of law or rule, we will
inform you of the violation and the corrective action the entity has been directed to
take. However, we do not have authority to resolve contractual disputes or
undocumented factual disputes between a customer and an entity. We also do not have
the authority to resolve disagreements pertaining to entity policies and procedures that
are a matter of management discretion and not addressed by Department of Financial Institutions rules.
In such cases, if the entity does not make a voluntary adjustment, we will usually
advise you to consider obtaining legal counsel regarding your rights to resolve the
situation. |
|
| Consumer Affairs staff hopes this web page serves as a useful resource
guide in informing you of our complaint handling process and your rights should you
encounter a problem with an entity we regulate. |
|
| Press the Complaint Form button above to download a blank complaint form electronically in an Adobe
Acrobat format (.PDF file) |
12.26.2007
