The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation has fined a fintech company $2.5 million for not responding to consumer complaints in a timely manner that constitutes a violation of California’s Consumer Financial Protection Law, the DFPI said.
The Background: Chime Financial sits between consumers and financial institutions and provides consumers with access to retail banking products like savings and checking accounts.
- The DFPI received complaints from consumers regarding their accounts and customer service interactions with the company, which the DFPI forwarded to the company so it could investigate and respond appropriately. The DFPI also investigated how Chime handled the complaints it was forwarded.
- Between January and March of 2021, the company’s complaint handling violated the CCFPL because it made “occasional mistakes” with respect to its responsiveness to those complaints, according to the consent order. The DFPI said the number of mistakes was “relatively small in comparison to the overall number of complaints received,” but the mistakes were important to affected consumers.
- The company represented that it has addressed the issues identified by the DFPI and continues to improve its complaint resolution practices.
The Settlement: Along with paying the fine, the company has also agreed to the following requirements:
- Ensure customer service support 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- Ensure sufficient customer service support staffing
- Ensure sufficient customer service support training, and
- Investigate and implement policies and procedures to maintain the accurate, prompt and proper handling of consumer complaints.
The Last Word: “Consumers have a right to their complaints being resolved accurately, fairly, and in a timely manner, and the DFPI will continue to ensure these rights are protected,” said DFPI Commissioner Clothilde V. Hewlett.
